I used to have a Xanga page and now it lives here.
Found quote:
“Gullible isn’t a word in the dictionary, yet we use it anyway!”
One thought on “”
The “marital orgy” your talking about is refered to as polyamory, and it has its own problems, aside from those of polygamy. One of these issues is called the free-rider problem. One of the functions of marriage is to provide people with caretakers for when they need them. (In case of serious illness, for example.) Well, say Bob, Linda, Mary, and Clifford the big red dog all decided to get involved in a polyamorous “marriage”. Now say Clifford gets really sick. Who’s gonna take care of him? The marital responsibilities are not clearly laid out to determine who should be caretaker. This problem doens’t occur in monogamous marriage, because it’s clear that the responsibility falls on the other person by default. (There’s no one else to choose from.) The problem is even worse when there are kids involved. Let’s say Bob, Linda, Mary, and Clifford get busy, and now there’s a bunch of little rugrats running around. Eventually, they all start getting tired of the relationship and start divorcing out. How do the child-care responsibilities play out? They’re everybody’s kids…
The reality is that polyamory would not, in theory, provide any of the benefits of monogamous marriage, like better emotional health, physical health, and financial stability. Monogamous marriage naturally provides these benefits because it is monogamous and exclusive. Polyamory is neither. (If you want me to explain the principles behind this, please ask. It involves more typing than I am willing to do at the moment.)
The last issue with polyamory is one of aesthetics and ideals. Monogamous marriage is an institution which venerates the ideal of the individual. Monogamous marriage is an exclusive relationship between to consenting individuals, who have picked each other out of the rest of the croud as the only individuals they want to spend the rest of their lives with. By choosing a spouse, you are celebarating the special and unique charactor of the person you have choosen – deliberately playing favorites. Polyamory is just the opposite – an institution which venerates the collective. By entering into a polyamorous union, you are not celebrating anyone’s unique charactor. You are merely renouncing your own by joining a “club”.
Obviously, people should be allowed to draw up whatever legal contracts they please; it is their right. All I’m saying is that the law should draw a clear line between polyamory and marriage, because polyamory provides none of hte benefits of marriage and, therefore, serves none of the purposes of marriage.
The “marital orgy” your talking about is refered to as polyamory, and it has its own problems, aside from those of polygamy. One of these issues is called the free-rider problem. One of the functions of marriage is to provide people with caretakers for when they need them. (In case of serious illness, for example.) Well, say Bob, Linda, Mary, and Clifford the big red dog all decided to get involved in a polyamorous “marriage”. Now say Clifford gets really sick. Who’s gonna take care of him? The marital responsibilities are not clearly laid out to determine who should be caretaker. This problem doens’t occur in monogamous marriage, because it’s clear that the responsibility falls on the other person by default. (There’s no one else to choose from.) The problem is even worse when there are kids involved. Let’s say Bob, Linda, Mary, and Clifford get busy, and now there’s a bunch of little rugrats running around. Eventually, they all start getting tired of the relationship and start divorcing out. How do the child-care responsibilities play out? They’re everybody’s kids…
The reality is that polyamory would not, in theory, provide any of the benefits of monogamous marriage, like better emotional health, physical health, and financial stability. Monogamous marriage naturally provides these benefits because it is monogamous and exclusive. Polyamory is neither. (If you want me to explain the principles behind this, please ask. It involves more typing than I am willing to do at the moment.)
The last issue with polyamory is one of aesthetics and ideals. Monogamous marriage is an institution which venerates the ideal of the individual. Monogamous marriage is an exclusive relationship between to consenting individuals, who have picked each other out of the rest of the croud as the only individuals they want to spend the rest of their lives with. By choosing a spouse, you are celebarating the special and unique charactor of the person you have choosen – deliberately playing favorites. Polyamory is just the opposite – an institution which venerates the collective. By entering into a polyamorous union, you are not celebrating anyone’s unique charactor. You are merely renouncing your own by joining a “club”.
Obviously, people should be allowed to draw up whatever legal contracts they please; it is their right. All I’m saying is that the law should draw a clear line between polyamory and marriage, because polyamory provides none of hte benefits of marriage and, therefore, serves none of the purposes of marriage.