The Changing American Family

29           In short, the whole structure of society is moving toward increased diver­sity. It is hardly surprising that the family system is in tune with this shift. The re­cent startling changes in American family structure are part of this larger move from a mass society to one that offers a far greater variety of life choice.

30- Any attempt to go backward to a simpler system dominated by the nuclear family—or by any one model—will fail, just as our attempts to save the economy by "reindustrializiiig" have failed. For in both cases we are looking backward rather than forward.

31To help  families adapt to the new Third Wave society with its deversified energy, production, communications, and politics, we should encourage innovations that permit employees to adjust their work hours to personal needs. We should fa­vor "flex-time,” part-time work arrangements, job-sharing. We should eliminate housing tax and credit regulations that discriminate against non-nuclear families. We need more imaginative day-care facilities.