(September 21, 2023 at 10:39 am)GrandizerII Wrote:(September 21, 2023 at 5:40 am)FrustratedFool Wrote: Why is it illegal to be a bigamist/polyandrist etc?
Traditionally, marriage isn't about love. It's about partnership, benefits, agreements between the two wider families marrying the couple, fulfilling religious duties, having kids.
You get married to two or more people for what? Just because you love them?
I'm thinking the opposite way. Besides legal benefits, what's even the point of marriage from a secular perspective?
It's is a larger commitment than just living together, so it offers some assurance of a stable life to both partners... Until it doesn't.
A hundred years ago and before, it offered the man the knowledge that the kids were his offspring (for the most part).
Concerning the multiple partners detail, maybe look at societies where multiple partners marriages exist(ed)... ever heard of a harem? Where the rich and powerful guy gets to have many women under his care, while many men of lesser status go partnerless. Where the women in the harem are mostly jealous of each other and also fight for their place in the ladies' hierarchy.
It becomes a mess.
One woman with several men would lead to a similar outcome, I guess... Not sure there is any society-wide precedent for such a thing.
And also, we know that the birthrate of men and women is roughly 50/50, so it makes sense to have some incentive to keep people mating in that proportion.
The rich and powerful would love for polygamy to be legal. I guess it's mostly religious morality that is keeping it illegal nowadays... in my non-rich status (along with the remaining 99%), I am forced to appreciate and welcome the influence of religion on this subject.
