Men are a handful. They contribute disproportionately to almost every social problem in America. To some degree, this is nothing new: For as long as Americans have debated social policy, they've prioritized problems associated with men. The temperance movement, for instance, was a century-long effort to bring men under control. Closer to our day, problems like chronic joblessness, mass incarceration, substance abuse, suicide, and homelessness are hitting levels not witnessed in generations, thanks in large part to America's male population.
Many social programs can help troubled men. They fall into two general categories: those that redistribute resources, and those that specialize in rehabilitation. Entitlement programs make up the bulk of the former. The latter — which provide training, treatment, and education to clients while helping them develop positive habits and build character — include addiction-treatment centers, workforce-development programs, problem-solving court programs, prisoner-reentry programs, and homeless shelters. Their goal is to rebuild broken lives.
Rehabilitation entails more downside risk than redistribution. Running a food pantry won't break your heart like working in intensely personal, one-on-one circumstances with someone, watching him reenter society on the wings of your highest hopes, and learning later on that he's relapsed. But the upside of rehabilitation work is greater, too.
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Stephen Eide is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He is a 2024-25 public scholar at the City College of New York’s Moynihan Center.
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