Do left-liberals neglect the importance of families?

[DC Al Fine]

A bit. Liberals need to fight harder for issues like subsidizing surrogate mothers for gay couples and allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.

Government paying mothers to give their children to someone else is a perfect example of neglecting the importance of family.   Privileging funding for child care outside the home over supporting parents in caring for children at home is a less extreme example of this.

I am sure that you will be shouted at for saying this, but I was taken aback by this example as well.

It is extremely disturbing to see this conversation, which is ostensibly about how liberals should think about "family values" as of 2017, turn to the suggestion that we use tax subsidies to coerce poor women into becoming rentable wombs.

Exactly. Surrogacy is a fantastic example of limousine liberalism. No concern for the poor or working class at all.

[DC Al Fine]

From my socially conservative standpoint, the left's problem isn't ignoring families, it's promoting a very narrow vision of what a family is. One gets the impression from many left-liberal activists that the ideal family has 1-2 kids, lives in a city, and has both parents working full time.

For example, almost all the family/childcare policy I've heard from the centre left lately is based around making paid childcare more affordable and increasing female labour force participation. The mother who wants to stay home or work part time or have four kids is ignored. Similar themes are found in urban planning. I agree car culture has run amok as the next liberal, but I can't quite shake the notion that for some leftish folks that we're all supposed to live in 1 bedroom condos in downtown highrises.

[DC Al Fine]

From my socially conservative standpoint, the left's problem isn't ignoring families, it's promoting a very narrow vision of what a family is. One gets the impression from many left-liberal activists that the ideal family has 1-2 kids, lives in a city, and has both parents working full time.

For example, almost all the family/childcare policy I've heard from the centre left lately is based around making paid childcare more affordable and increasing female labour force participation. The mother who wants to stay home or work part time or have four kids is ignored. Similar themes are found in urban planning. I agree car culture has run amok as much as the next liberal, but I can't quite shake the notion that for some leftish folks that we're all supposed to live in 1 bedroom condos in downtown highrises.

I find this very interesting, since I imagine most socially liberal people would say the same thing about social conservatives.

Sure, but then social conservatives are pretty open about their opinion that some lifestyles are better than others. I've seen parts of the far left, some feminists and a few libertines own that idea, but it doesn't appear to have seeped into the mainstream left.

[DC Al Fine]

From my socially conservative standpoint, the left's problem isn't ignoring families, it's promoting a very narrow vision of what a family is. One gets the impression from many left-liberal activists that the ideal family has 1-2 kids, lives in a city, and has both parents working full time.

For example, almost all the family/childcare policy I've heard from the centre left lately is based around making paid childcare more affordable and increasing female labour force participation. The mother who wants to stay home or work part time or have four kids is ignored. Similar themes are found in urban planning. I agree car culture has run amok as the next liberal, but I can't quite shake the notion that for some leftish folks that we're all supposed to live in 1 bedroom condos in downtown highrises.

Conservative Republicans are the ones who are demanding that mothers work outside the home in order to receive social assistance.

Paul Ryan is not the be all and end all of social conservatism. You're starting to sound like Link.