"Liberals subscribe to the new flexible, pluralistic definition of the family; their defense of families carries no conviction"

This quote by Christopher Lasch recommends that liberals have adopted a more unbiased view of what constitutes a family. They are willing to accept a variety of household structures, such as single-parent families, same-sex couples, and combined households. Nevertheless, Lasch indicates that this approval is not necessarily wholehearted. He recommends that liberals may be more tolerant of these alternative household structures out of political correctness, instead of out of authentic conviction. In other words, they might be more happy to accept these household structures out of a sense of commitment, instead of out of a real belief in their validity. Lasch's quote suggests that liberals might not be as passionate in their defense of these alternative household structures as they are in their defense of conventional household structures.