Monogamous marriages are better

[Khostai]

The puzzle of monogamous marriage.

The anthropological record indicates that approximately 85 per cent of human societies have permitted men to have more than one wife (polygynous marriage), and both empirical and evolutionary considerations suggest that large absolute differences in wealth should favour more polygynous marriages. Yet, monogamous marriage has spread across Europe, and more recently across the globe, even as absolute wealth differences have expanded. Here, we develop and explore the hypothesis that the norms and institutions that compose the modern package of monogamous marriage have been favoured by cultural evolution because of their group-beneficial effects—promoting success in inter-group competition. In suppressing intrasexual competition and reducing the size of the pool of unmarried men, normative monogamy reduces crime rates, including rape, murder, assault, robbery and fraud, as well as decreasing personal abuses. By assuaging the competition for younger brides, normative monogamy decreases (i) the spousal age gap, (ii) fertility, and (iii) gender inequality. By shifting
male efforts from seeking wives to paternal investment, normative monogamy increases savings, child investment and economic productivity. By increasing the relatedness within households, normative monogamy reduces intra-household conflict, leading to lower rates of child neglect, abuse, accidental death and homicide. These predictions are tested using converging lines of evidence from across the human sciences.

Keywords: cultural group selection; monogamy; polygyny; marriage; norms; institutional evolution

You can read the whole paper here: http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.o...9/657.full.pdf

[Khostai]

But somehow the true relligion of Islam have permited polygamy. Hmmm how strange....

[Adam]

While polygamy is permitted in Islam has there ever been a time when polygamous marriages formed the majority of all marriages in an Islamic society?

[DaZahroJaam.]

And if one was to ask for an elaboration of as to where that 85 percent is hailing from, I can assure you that it will be from third world and over populated countries like Sudan, India and some other good for nothing piece of land on earth. Countries where women have no source of income to begin with. So yeah, you may save yourself money in the short run but in the future they will all be begging for a meal..

[khushal]

While polygamy is permitted in Islam has there ever been a time when polygamous marriages formed the majority of all marriages in an Islamic society?

That would be impossible since there wont be enough women.

[Brown Skinned Savage]

This study is hilarious and has already been debunked

Firstly the sample space is very biased; it focuses mainly on comparing Africa, in particular turmoil ridden parts with Wealthy Northern European states like Scandinavia, which lowers the mean values when accumulated with America or Australia. And they start relating Crime statistics which have numerous multivariate causes and tries to create a linear regression model connecting crime with polygamy.

This is a Logical Fallacy known as Correlation vs. Causation. It's statistical methods are incredibly distorted because it tries to manufacture a connection between poverty and polygamy, that they can effectively be treated as one variable. This is equivalent to saying that Insurance Rates go up, because Sports fans get excited