On Fri, 18 Jun 2004, mike larkin wrote:
>
> via Matthew Yglesias
>
> http://www.divorcereform.org/94staterates.html
>
Here's one of my pet theories/speculations about the rise in the divorce rate in the U. S. over the past 100 years; it also explains the "red state" divorce disparity. As more and more of social life becomes commodified, people take for granted that even intimate relations are (and should be) market transactions: e.g., the marriage market, "I'm not getting anything out of this relationship", the trophy wife, etc. --So what do you do when the novelty of the commodity wears off? You buy a new one! Even intimate relations reflect the mentality of the market, and thus the rapid obsolescence of romantic relationships.
So, wildly speculating, I'd say people in the red states have been more effectively enculturated into market culture, and apply that logic to their romantic relationships. (This also nicely explains why right wing loonbats like Limbaugh engage in serial monogamy.)
Miles