hyperskeptic
New member
This is curious: Ross Douthat, one of the conservative columnists for The New York Times, makes a few predictions about "polygamy" as the next step in the unfolding of "expressive individualism."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/opinion/sunday/ross-douthat-the-prospects-for-polygamy.html
He expands the discussion with use of the terms "plural marriage," "polyamory," and "ethical nonmonogamy," but without clearly distinguishing those from conventional, patriarchal polygamy. He characterizes polygamy as follows:
So, his understanding of the varieties of nonmonogamy is, to say the least, muddled.
Still, his conclusion is notable:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/opinion/sunday/ross-douthat-the-prospects-for-polygamy.html
He expands the discussion with use of the terms "plural marriage," "polyamory," and "ethical nonmonogamy," but without clearly distinguishing those from conventional, patriarchal polygamy. He characterizes polygamy as follows:
It’s associated with patriarchy and sexual abuse, rather than liberation and equality. It flourishes in self-segregated communities, Mormon-fundamentalist and Muslim-immigrant, rather than being widely distributed across society. Its practitioners (so far as we know) are considerably fewer in number than the roughly 3.5 percent of Americans who identify as gay or bisexual.
So, his understanding of the varieties of nonmonogamy is, to say the least, muddled.
Still, his conclusion is notable:
As I said, it’s an interesting question. I feel safe predicting that polygamy will not be legally recognized, with fanfare and trumpets, in 2025.
But it might be recognized in 2040, with a shrug.
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