James Madison said that the object of government is…
James Madison said that the object of government is the happiness of the people. Probably the same principle can be applied to the object of family is the happiness of the members of the family. The founders of the country coupled happiness with security as the first component. This means protecting the family from predators. The second component of happiness was to own and protect property which was considered a buffer against misfortune.
— from Family & Parenting (Family/Parenting) · GB writing
In the book
So tell it, often, and capture it before it is lost; there are wonderful tools now, like oral-history projects that prompt you through recording your elders' lives, so that the stories survive the people. Underneath both culture and narrative sits the oldest definition of what a family is even for. James Madison said the object of government is the happiness of its people; the same is true of a family — its purpose is the happiness of its members, and, first of all, their protection from harm. Two quieter truths sit underneath all of it. — Family & Parenting (Family/Parenting)
The ingredients turn out to be a few: a sense of control and autonomy over your life, being guided by meaning and purpose, and real connection with other people. The same logic scales down to a household — you could fairly say the object of a family is the happiness of its members. One tidy formula puts it as three things: the state of your health, the state of your relationships, and your sense of meaning and purpose. — Enjoy the Flight (Living/Balance/Happiness/Passion)