[thechat] King Preaches Abstinence to Parading Maidens

[Luther, Ron]

Hi E,

Just weighing in a bit on the subject of polygamy.

 From a historical (and current implementation) basis, I'd say
I'm against it.  I haven't done a ton of research, but I believe
it stems from a 'status' point of view.  In historical (and some
current) cultures where women were/are viewed as chattel it was
a form of economic status.  "Oh look how rich he is - he has 7 wives."
Or "What a poor good-for-nothing, he cannot even afford 2 wives."

I see that as a bad idea and I'm against it.


However, a friend once noted that people usually fit together
like puzzle pieces from mismatched boxes.  Some areas of their lives
dovetail very nicely, others have to be stomped on to get a crappy
fit.  You can find a partner that is intellectually and economically
stimulating and enjoys the same activities and pursuits you do.  They
may have very different religeous beliefs, may not be a 'good' parent,
and may not be stimulating sexually.  The thought was that if
everyone could find four partners, satisfying different areas of need
in their lives ... it would be a very interesting and possibly peaceful
world.

In that kind of situation, (and making a HUGE leap of faith about the
maturity of society in general), then polygamy might be an interesting
structure.

At present, however, I think immaturity, petty jealousies and pressures
to conform to social norms would relegate an experiment to
commune-like failure.

If nothing else, it would make a cool backdrop for one of those books
I've never gotten around to writing yet!

;-)


RonL.