The institution of monogamous marriage appears to be a corruption of the older, more reproductively productive institution of polygyny by successful males. Why favor the middle-aged institution over the ancient?
The institution of monogamous marriage appears to be a corruption of the older, more reproductively productive institution of polygyny by successful males.
This type of polygyny wasn’t nearly as widespread as you seem to think. In any case monogamous marriage has been around long enough that we can see that it works. The same isn’t at all clear for what modern marriage is turning into.
I’m talking prehistoric here; we have evidence to suggest that raiding for females was a regular feature of human culture for most of our species’ existence (discussed in this book.)
In any case, the modern, marry-for-love tradition, as opposed to marriage for political or economic expediency, is recent enough as to be practically untested in historical terms. It would be disingenuous to pretend that reverting to the institution of eighty years ago is in any way a return to a time-tested standard.
I’m talking prehistoric here; we have evidence to suggest that raiding for females was a regular feature of human culture for most of our species’ existence
This was that big an effect in practice, i.e., the average woman was not taken as a captive during her lifetime. War is negative sum and for all their glorification of war, even aggressive societies spent most of their energies on productive activities.
In any case, the modern, marry-for-love tradition, as opposed to marriage for political or economic expediency,
The institution of monogamous marriage appears to be a corruption of the older, more reproductively productive institution of polygyny by successful males. Why favor the middle-aged institution over the ancient?
This type of polygyny wasn’t nearly as widespread as you seem to think. In any case monogamous marriage has been around long enough that we can see that it works. The same isn’t at all clear for what modern marriage is turning into.
I’m talking prehistoric here; we have evidence to suggest that raiding for females was a regular feature of human culture for most of our species’ existence (discussed in this book.)
In any case, the modern, marry-for-love tradition, as opposed to marriage for political or economic expediency, is recent enough as to be practically untested in historical terms. It would be disingenuous to pretend that reverting to the institution of eighty years ago is in any way a return to a time-tested standard.
This was that big an effect in practice, i.e., the average woman was not taken as a captive during her lifetime. War is negative sum and for all their glorification of war, even aggressive societies spent most of their energies on productive activities.
The two aren’t mutually exclusive.