Many argue that the modern family, weakened and embattled, is an anachronistic institution whose demise is only a question of time. This is a critical issue for contemporary life, for public life, as always, is at the mercy of private life. Looking to the future, the eminent sociologist Brigitte Berger argues that it is reasonable to expect that the family will endure as a fundamental social institution. It has stood at the cradle of the modern social order some three hundred years ago, and will continue to provide the basis for any society concerned with the happiness, liberty, equality, and
