REALITY IS SOCIALLY CONSERVATIVE.

The Conservative Woman gives a guy, Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack, a forum for "Sexual freedom and the collapse of civilisation" to cite nearly century-old research.

Step forward J D Unwin, an ethnologist and social anthropologist at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, who a century ago painstakingly studied 80 primitive tribes and six known civilisations through 5,000 years of history. Unwin described his 600+ page book Sex and Culture as a ‘summary’ of his decades of research; a full disclosure would require seven volumes.

Although his study was published nearly 90 years ago, in 1934, it is still relevant. Robert P George of Princeton, one of conservative Christianity’s leading intellectuals, uses Unwin in his teaching and argues that no one since has matched him in the thoroughness of his study of civilisations. Unwin had no axe to grind; he was not a believer and his work reads like that of a scientific rationalist who has nothing positive to say about Christianity.

Unwin studied the art, literature, politics, science, architecture, engineering and other cultural activities as well as the social structures of the 86 societies. He was looking for the effect they had on the social energy, stability and cohesion of the group, as well as its ability to compete with and defend itself against rival civilisations. He concluded that there is a positive correlation between the level of cultural achievement and survivability of a society and the level of sexual restraint expected within that society.

When a society practised sexual restraint it flourished and all aspects of cultural life prospered. However, as societies develop and become prosperous they become increasingly liberal with regard to sexual morality and as a result they lose cohesion, impetus and purpose. This accelerates social entropy and the reduction of its creative energy. Unwin concludes, ‘Any human society is free to choose either to display great energy or to enjoy sexual freedom; the evidence is that it cannot do both for more than one generation.’

Professor Unwin might have used "sexual restraint" as a proxy for "bourgeois norms" more generally, the phenomenon he focuses on is precisely what Kipling's Gods of the Copybook Headings warned of, and he compiled that research before contraceptive medicines emerged.

Social entropy, in the professor's estimation, could not be reversed once it began.

Unwin argues that this downward process is irreversible: ‘The whole of human history does not contain a single instance of a group becoming civilised unless it has been absolutely monogamous, nor is there any example of a group retaining its culture after it has adopted less rigorous customs.’

Amongst Unwin’s findings in Sex and Culture were that increased sexual restraint always led to the flourishing of a culture, whilst increased sexual freedom always led to the collapse of the culture. The most powerful combination of factors leading to a culture flourishing was pre-nuptial chastity coupled with absolute monogamy. Rationalist cultures retaining this combination exceeded all other cultures in every area of endeavour, art, science, literature, engineering and agriculture.

Conversely when absolute sexual freedom was embraced that culture collapsed to the lowest level within three generations. Unwin described the lowest level as being ‘inert’, when the population became interested in little other than their own wants and needs. Upon reaching this level the culture is usually conquered or taken over by another culture with greater social energy.

What makes the work relevant today is that beginning in the 1960s the West underwent a sexual revolution where traditional Christian sexual ethics were abandoned, and today we can test the conclusions Unwin had arrived at 30 years earlier.

He wrote of three indicators which become apparent when society starts a downward trajectory. The loss of a belief in a transcendent God or gods, rational thinking losing its importance, and lifelong monogamous marriage disintegrating. We cannot deny this describes the West today where atheism increases, therapeutic truth holds sway and rational thinking is suspect, and lifelong monogamy has been replaced by serial monogamy.

On the other hand, if history is not linear, and there might be rhythms and cycles, good old rational thinking might come up to bat again.  What happens when feminism rediscovers the mother?  (Answer:  "contemporary mating practices might not be evolutionarily stable.")  What happens when that proto-feminist lament, "Is that all there is?," turns to the fertility-killing career track? (Let me answer that question with another question.  "What's the point of doing the work of four people for twelve hours a day on half your previous salary if 'downgrading your expenses' doesn't rule out Internet access or a functioning car or clothing for the kids?")

Mr Campbell-Jack concludes with a theological meditation.  "Unwin found that there were moral laws which appear to be designed to minimise human suffering and maximise human flourishing. He admitted that he didn’t know why this should be. He didn’t give credit that these laws coincide with the Bible’s moral structure."  So it is with institutions that confer evolutionary advantage.  Early literate people might have treated their norms as divinely inspired.  In twelve millennia, perhaps we got a few things right.  "Cultural norms are emergent, and it is not wrong to call them 'social constructions,' although it is an error to deconstruct them willy-nilly.  That's long been a theme at Cold Spring Shops, and maybe, just maybe, it's dawning on people that you deconstruct them at your peril."