When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved Marriages with Beer

Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by lotsofpulp on Sunday February 17, 2019 @06:25AM (#19183903)

It seems plausible to me that societies that developed a marriage type situation could have benefited from more stability due to men being more settled (or at least having the veneer of being settled) and not competing with each other for every woman they see.

Otherwise, it seems possible we could end up with a situation where 20% of men get 80% of women like many other species and the males have to keep fighting each other to determine who gets them.

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by rjsw on Sunday February 17, 2019 @07:17AM (#19184096)

I wonder whether traditional marriage is the cause of western style society rather than a product of it.

If only the Alpha males get to reproduce then you only select for Alpha male type characteristics. You don't select for the gene sets that will produce new inventions, good craftspeople, or people who can work at administration of larger groups.

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by menzoic on Sunday February 17, 2019 @08:09AM (#19184276)

There is no alpha male. The original study confused the father in a family of wolves as a general "alpha". The original author retracted the results, but it still lives on.

https://www.businessinsider.com/no-such-thing-alpha-male-201...

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by hopler on Sunday February 17, 2019 @12:05PM (#19185433)

Substitute "alpha" with "cad", then. The fact remains that when transaction costs are reduced (as with mobile app dating), polygamy increases to that number of 20% of males mating with 80% of the females, with reproduxtio mitigated by modern birth control.

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by 1000units on Sunday February 17, 2019 @06:34AM (#19183941)

We've outlawed dueling yet we've also dismantled the traditional institution of marriage. These are very strange times.

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by Retric on Sunday February 17, 2019 @06:50AM (#19183998)

The traditional institution of marriage is less changed than you might assume. Historically, it’s varied quite a bit from any given norm, the largest change is simply longer lifespans and less cheating.

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by lotsofpulp on Sunday February 17, 2019 @06:52AM (#19184007)

The most important change in the last 50 years compared to any time before is that women now have the option to be self sufficient.

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by XMPPwocky on Sunday February 17, 2019 @08:00AM (#19184250)

Even accepting your premise, which I don't...

Is it ethical to require half of the species to be dependent just for societal stability?

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by lotsofpulp on Sunday February 17, 2019 @09:45AM (#19184668)

I never insinuated that half the species should be dependent for social stability. In a previous comment, I mentioned it was plausible a one woman-one man (or any 1 to 1 partnership ignoring genders) results in more stable societies due to less competition.

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Re:When Divorce Was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved... by 1000units on Sunday February 17, 2019 @07:22AM (#19184117)

It lasts longer but less cheating happens? How? Has marriage actually become stronger?

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