It Takes a Family

Infobox Book
name = It Takes a Family


image_caption = The Hardcover Edition
author = Rick Santorum
cover_artist =
language = English
subject = Family
Political
genre = Non-Fiction
publisher = Intercollegiate Studies Institute
release_date = July 4, 2005
media_type = Hardcover
pages = 495
isbn =

"It Takes a Family" is a 2005 book by then Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. The title is a response to the 1996 book "It Takes a Village" by then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the book, Santorum states that the family structure is necessary. He claims that liberal social policies have devastated the family structure and that prevailing socially liberal attitudes have systematically devalued families across the board. He argues that government should take a proactive role in promoting strong families.

Critical response and reviews

Many sympathetic reviews came from politically and religiously conservative organizations and leaders, who welcomed the book as refreshing and bold. The book was praised by conservative Christian media leaders James Dobson and Pat Robertson and promoted through their organizations, as well as by the conservative magazine "National Review", which printed a series of excerpts from the book. The magazine's book service called the book's ideas "innovative" and "based on sound values — including the centrality of the family to all social and political life." [http://www.nrbookservice.com/products/bookpage.asp?prod_cd=c6692 National Review Book Service products page] A review by Keith Fournier in "Catholic Online" likewise praises the book, saying, "The author’s discussion of how to create a family friendly public policy which promotes fidelity and encourages motherhood, fatherhood and intact families is well thought out and practical." [http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=2398 Review of "It Takes a Family","Catholic Online", July 25, 2005]

Many reviews were critical of Santorum's work. Claiming that Santorum's social vision was anything but innovative or refreshing, one reviewer for The Philadelphia Enquirer referred to Santorum as "one of the finest minds of the Thirteenth Century". Writing for "American Prospect Online", reviewer Mark Schmitt argues that the book fails to present a unified case for how social conservatism is served by "laissez-faire" economic policies, yet urges readers to commit to both; he also asserts that the author offers several solutions already proposed by his opposition, while criticizing the opposition's failure to provide solutions. [http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=10054 "It Takes a Democrat" (review of "It Takes a Family"), "American Prospect Online", July 29, 2005]

Ruth Conniff, reviewing the book for "The Progressive", comments that certain arguments and examples in the book are seemingly at odds. As an example, the reviewer points out that a success story cited by Santorum as an example of a single mother getting off welfare actually showcases a number of strategies the senator opposes — leaving the children's father, use of public shelters, and use of welfare to support the family while getting an education, rather than leaving school to take a job. [http://www.progressive.org/mag_conniff1005 "Rick Santorum’s America," "The Progressive", October 2005]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.ittakesafamily.com Official site of "It Takes a Family"]