The transition from an industrial to a postindustrial society presents problems of unemployment, inflation, business failures, and high debt and interest rates. Additionally, this transition exerts a severe impact on individuals and the family unit. The family is shaped by political, economic, and social forces and in turn shapes these dynamics. Attempts have been made to rejuvenate personal and familial capacities and community enterprise. One organization devoted to such rejuvenation is the Vanier Institute of the Family, a group that monitors social changes in family and community life and promotes the well-being of Canadian families. Changes in family life that affect society are reflected in the labor force, business interactions, household attitudes, and community activities. The result of these changes is that the current cash economy is misperceived as the whole economy. Learning more about informal economy and establishing policies to encourage development may resolve the crisis of the welfare state. In general, people are becoming more self-reliant and developing interpersonal support systems based on cooperative relationships and new technologies. (BJD)