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Konkvistador comments on Poly marriage? - Less Wrong Discussion

-9 Post author: h-H 06 June 2012 07:57PM

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Comment author: [deleted] 07 June 2012 06:13:18PM *  6 points [-]

When you said above that status was the real reason LW-associates oppose legal polygamy, you were implying that these people are not actually convinced of these issues, or only pretend to care about them for status reasons.

If polygamous people where high status they wouldn't voice nor perhaps even think of these objections.

I think it's kinda weird that government is in the marriage business to begin with, but probably it is useful to have some sort of structure for dealing with the related tax / property / etc. concerns.

I tend to agree. Customizable contracts would be the best solution. This way we wouldn't straight jacket people into one size fits all marriage. Some people might like marriages where infidelity is grounds for divorce and the cheating party is penalized somehow. Some people might like marriages that have to be renewed every 10 years, to minimize any hassle with any potential divorce or allow a time out on the relationship. ect.

This would make everyone from the traditionalists to those seeking novel arrangements happy.

Comment author: CuSithBell 07 June 2012 06:19:19PM 6 points [-]

I tend to agree. Customizable contracts would be the best solution.

For some reason I'm picturing the Creative Commons licenses.

Comment author: [deleted] 07 June 2012 06:20:14PM *  7 points [-]

I had exactly that as a sort of model in my brain. :)

Comment author: CuSithBell 08 June 2012 03:33:44AM 1 point [-]

I find this quite aesthetically pleasing :D

Comment author: TheOtherDave 07 June 2012 07:20:20PM 0 points [-]

This would make everyone from the traditionalists to those seeking novel arrangements happy

How seriously do you mean this claim?

Comment author: [deleted] 08 June 2012 05:14:16AM *  3 points [-]

Pretty seriously, I'm not sure why you would think I'm not. Is there something wrong with people having options to customize the legal arrangements of their relationships? And with the decline of classical marriage shouldn't we encourage all such relationships to increase social cohesion as well as contribute towards creating better environments for raising children?

Comment author: TheOtherDave 08 June 2012 05:29:35AM 0 points [-]

Pretty seriously, I'm not sure why you would think I'm not.

Because I find it very unlikely that your proposal would make traditionalists happy, if implemented, but it was plausible that you just meant that part as hyperbole.

Comment author: [deleted] 08 June 2012 05:34:39AM *  4 points [-]

It wouldn't make mainstream "conservatives" happy, but that is simply because they are so utterly ignorant to how legally different marriage is today compared to a few decades or worse don't mind it at all, not minding the incongruity. It would make traditionalists happy. They could recreate much of what they miss about modern marriage.

Take for example penalizing the partner who is cheating in divorce settlements, this is something I know no Slovenian court will ever take into consideration but something people who actually want a traditional marriage would love. In general maybe some people would like to make divorces more difficult because they in general don't approve of them. Maybe some people think default custody should de facto lie with the husband instead of the wife (as it does currently). ect. ect.

Before you think there aren't any people who look at it this way, note that I've seen enthusiasm for this concept on very hardcore Christian right wing blogs like the Orthosphere and The Thinking Housewife.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 09 June 2012 06:06:32PM *  1 point [-]

Take for example penalizing the partner who is cheating in divorce settlements, this is something I know no Slovenian court will ever take into consideration but something people who actually want a traditional marriage would love. In general maybe some people would like to make divorces more difficult because they in general don't mode approve of them. Maybe some people think default custody should de facto lie with the husband instead of the wife (as it does currently). ect. ect.

Careful, you need to weaken the political power of feminism first, otherwise they will try to pass restrictions on the types of marriage contracts to be enforced, similar to the restrictions on employment contracts.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 08 June 2012 05:37:31AM 0 points [-]

Fair enough. If mainstream soi-disant conservatives aren't on the continuum you were referencing, then I was simply confused about what you were referencing.

Comment author: [deleted] 08 June 2012 05:41:57AM *  2 points [-]

Mainstream conservatives will be happy with it too. They aren't very clever that way, you can change almost anything you want and 30 years later they won't question it seriously any-more. ;)

Comment author: TheOtherDave 08 June 2012 02:15:20PM 1 point [-]

As someone who was paying some attention to American politics back then, it sure does seem to me that the people usually described as mainstream conservatives in the U.S. are continuing to object strenuously to many of the same things they were objecting strenuously to in 1982. Are you suggesting that I'm mistaken in that perception? That all of that stuff is an exception that falls into the gap between "almost anything" and "anything"? That the people in question aren't mainstream conservatives? Other?

I am also not sure how to reconcile:

It wouldn't make mainstream "conservatives" happy,

with:

Mainstream conservatives will be happy with it too.

I assume you're communicating something key with your use of quotations (otherwise you'd simply be contradicting yourself), but it's too subtle a distinction for me to interpret reliably.

Comment author: [deleted] 08 June 2012 02:41:00PM *  1 point [-]

In context its perfectly obvious. The second quote has a implied "eventually".

As someone who was paying some attention to American politics back then, it sure does seem to me that the people usually described as mainstream conservatives in the U.S. are continuing to object strenuously to many of the same things they were objecting strenuously to in 1982.

Don't be silly. On economic matters yes, on cultural and social matters the right has utterly lost except perhaps on the issue of abortion. The very fact that today's debate is about gay marriage (to borrow the issue the OP brought up), should be an indicator of how far to the left 2012 is from 1982 on such issues. How many democrats would have even considered supporting such a notion then?

Mark my words in 2042 conservatives will be defending gay marriage as an integral part of the bedrock of Western civilization.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 08 June 2012 02:48:14PM 0 points [-]

Thank you for explaining it despite considering it perfectly obvious.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 09 June 2012 01:47:40AM 0 points [-]

Assuming the problems with that change don't become obvious within the time period. For an example of this happening, look at the problems caused by say no-fault divorce.

Comment author: [deleted] 09 June 2012 07:59:02AM 0 points [-]

To stick with your example I don't think I've seen mainstream conservatives notice anything of the kind. Do keep in mind how I use conservative in this context and how I differentiated them from traditionalists worthy of the name. Now besides the traditionalists and conservatives you have other currents of right wing thought who notice such things, but they are pretty marginalized. A few blogs on the internet focusing and analysing this problem is unfortunately a very minor phenomena unlikely to result in social change.

Comment author: CuSithBell 07 June 2012 06:17:11PM *  -1 points [-]

If polygamous people where high status they wouldn't voice nor perhaps even think of these objections.

Why isn't it the other way around?