WHAT is the BASIC UNIT of SOCIETY?

Richard is flying solo from Phoenix this week on Eyres on the Road while Linda is traveling with her sisters-in-law, so Richard is taking the opportunity to explore some recent public polling data that shows that the individual rather than the family has become the basic unit of American thought and culture and that good jobs and income are thought to be more relevant to well-being than being married or having children. What can be done?