Marriage as a capstone versus a cornerstone

From Knot Yet by Kay Hymowitz, Jason S. Carroll, W. Bradford Wilcox, and Kelleen Kaye. Interesting research in a deeply complex and contentious field. There is a volatile mix of values, religion, gender roles, ethics, personal productivity, national economic development, traditionalism vs. progressivism, community needs versus individual desires, etc.

Americans of all classes are postponing marriage to their late twenties and thirties for two main reasons, one economic and the other cultural. Young adults are taking longer to finish their education and stabilize their work lives. Culturally, young adults have increasingly come to see marriage as a “capstone” rather than a “cornerstone”—that is, something they do after they have all their other ducks in a row, rather than a foundation for launching into adulthood and parenthood.

But this capstone model is not working well for Middle Americans. One widely discussed reason for this is that Middle American men are having difficulty finding decent-paying, stable work capable of supporting a family. Another less understood reason is that the capstone model is silent about the connection between marriage and childbearing.