The Prime Element

What, do you suppose, is the basic component of any society?

If the answer is "the society", then we would need to be socialists. If the fundamental element of a society is "the village", then individual ownership and operation of businesses is opposed to this fundamental element, and we should move to a collective ownership base.

If the answer is "the individual", then we would need to be libertarians. The government would need to operate on the basis of protecting individuals, not groups. It would need to remain "hands off" to the largest possible extent and leave the individual with the largest possible range of choices and control.

I propose a different answer. I think that "the village" is too broad and "the individual" is too narrow. It seems to me that the primary component of any given society is "the family". It was the first "good" component in Genesis. It was not good for Adam to be alone, so God created Eve to be his wife. It continues to be a fundamental element throughout Scripture. Entire nations were defined by their family names. The nation of Israel, for instance, was originally "the children of Israel" or the offspring of a man named Israel. Most of the nations that are mentioned in the Old Testament are named for their families. Furthermore, it is the only element that perpetuates a society because in the family structure there is offspring. And despite our best efforts today, many studies indicate that divorce is detrimental to society, while the two-parent family seems to be the best option.

What if we made more decisions from this perspective? We wouldn't ask "Does it benefit the individual?" or "Does it benefit society?", but "Does it benefit the family?" I wonder what a truly "pro-family" society would look like? It's a lot of fun to think about, actually. We encourage lots of other things -- why not this fundamental element of society?