Our Faltering Social Vitality

The economy is in robust good health, but our social fabric isn't.

By two basic measures of social vitality, births and deaths, American society is faltering. Both the fertility rate and life expectancy are declining, in a sign that people feel less secure and, in some cases, have no hope at all.

We are attuned to headline-grabbing economic statistics -- GDP growth, the unemployment rate, wages -- as monthly and quarterly metrics of American well-being, but they aren't as telling as these more fundamental indicators.

To put it bluntly, contemporary America is characterized by less pro-creation...