This piece was published in Prospect alongside Michael Lind’s cover story on the favourable long-term outlook for America. You can discuss them both at First Drafts, Prospect ’s blog.
In March 1993, the conservative commentator William J Bennett released a report entitled “The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators.” Over the course of the preceding three decades, he wrote, the US had experienced “substantial social regression.” Since 1960, there had been a more than 500 per cent increase in violent crime; a more than 400 per cent increase in out-of-wedlock births; almost a tripling in the percentage of children on welfare; a tripling of the teenage suicide rate; a doubling of the divorce rate; and a decline of more than 70 points in SAT scores. Bennett concluded: “the forces of social decomposition in America are challenging—and in some instances overtaking—the forces of social composition.” Could anything be done to halt the slide?
But a strange thing has happened. Just when it seemed as if the storm clouds were about to burst, they began to part. And now, a decade and a half after these dire warnings, improvements are visible in the vast majority of social indicators; in some areas, like crime and welfare, the progress has the dimensions of a sea change.
If you are a subscriber, please log in »
This article is available to subscribers only
Subscribing to Prospect is the most reliable and convenient way to receive the magazine every month, and offers the best value.Subscription Types:
Online
An online subscription offers you complete and unlimited access to the entire website, including our searchable archive of every back issue of Prospect, and a PDF edition of each new issue: all this for just £20 per year. Purchase an online subscription »Renewal
Renew an existing subscription »Institutional access
If you are a library, business organisation or any other large institution that needs a multi-user licence, you can obtain institutional access.
Share
Subscribe to post comments
Print
