[lbo-talk] economics of polygyny

Yoshie Furuhashi furuhashi.1 at osu.edu
Thu Mar 16 10:27:42 PST 2006


Jim wrote:


> [undermining his whole argument, he totally ignores the institution
> of polyandry.]
>
> March 16, 2006/New York TIMES
>
> Economic Scene
> Polygamy and the Marriage Market: Who Would Have the Upper Hand?
> By ROBERT H. FRANK

Robert H. Frank also failed to address polygynous divorce. A lot of men complain about having to pay child support and fail to pay up, sometimes because they can't, other times because they don't want to. Imagine the case of a man who had six children with three different wives and got divorced by all of them.

It turns out that many polygamists are like Wal-Mart:

<blockquote>Salt Lake Tribune Sunday, June 28, 1998 Polygamy on the Dole Welfare aids the illegal lifestyle of many families in Utah-Arizona border community BY TOM ZOELLNER

HILDALE -- Government was once a sworn enemy of polygamy. Now, it is a benevolent uncle. Welfare is a way of life in the polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., where more than a third of the residents accept food stamps to support the huge families their old-style faith demands. ``If it wasn't for government subsidies, these people couldn't survive,''said Benjamin Bistline, who has renounced polygamy, but still lives in town. ``There are people here with 15 wives on welfare.'' FULL TEXT: <http://www.polygamyinfo.com/media%20plyg%205trib.htm></ blockquote>

In this day and age, few are men who can comfortably support even one wife, let alone more than one. Polygamists' idea of "traditional families" and economics are clearly at odds with each other.

Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org>



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