Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Marrying Smarter Not Harder

David Harsanyi argues that contra Cameron Diaz (noted relationship expert her) marriage is not dying as much as evolving:

Why are couples staying together? Like Diaz, we can hypothesize. Perhaps the rise of connective technology has created marriages based more on compatibility than immediacy or luck. Perhaps we have readjusted to our life expectancy and marry later and thus more smartly. Whatever the reasons, marriage can bring a healthier life.

This is not a moral observation of a traditionalist, but indisputable. There is innate need pulling us to marriage. It’s been around from prehistory, and it has taken many forms — polygamy, polyandry and my historical favorite, polyfidelity — but it’s never been close to passing on. Today we’ve settled on monogamy, and it has brought great stability and structure to society. It’s probably busy readjusting rather than dying.