Love, Liquid and Solid

In Argentina, I learned of an organization called, in English, something like "Solid Group", which turns out to be a response to a book called "Liquid Love".

Liquid love has made a big splash,
but they intend a solid clash.

The rebels speak:

Zygmunt Bauman, a Polish sociologist, has achieved great editorial success describing our “liquid” society. On his book “Liquid Love: On the Frailty of Human Bonds”, he captures the postmodern outlook regarding relationships:

In these days, bonds among people are fragile, weak, almost ethereal.

Liquid love is the legacy we inherited from the sexual revolution. And while adults may believe that young people comfortably swim in its waters, many of us are filled with dissatisfaction.

This clash reminds me of an interesting sociological phenomenon going on in the US lately. The upper middle class continues to marry before they have children, and to stay married.

Statistically speaking, of course.
It's not like they never divorce.

There are economic forces involved, no doubt, including unintended incentives and consequences of various laws and social programs.

But there's also a theory that there's a funny kind of hypocrisy involved that is misleading the under-educated. The upper middle class won't - in public - criticize having children out of wedlock. But in private they apparently think it's a big mistake.

You can make a case that it makes economic sense for lots of young women to choose to be single moms. I've seen some economists make such a case. But it does seem, statistically, associated with a life of scraping by, and with poorer outcomes for the kids, too.

I'm in favor of people having kids.
But you don't want their lives to hit the skids.