The Limits of Marriage

Why Getting Everyone Married Won't Solve All Our Problems

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology
Cover of the book The Limits of Marriage by Gary R. Lee, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gary R. Lee ISBN: 9781498512930
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: April 8, 2015
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Gary R. Lee
ISBN: 9781498512930
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: April 8, 2015
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

This book documents and explains the remarkable decline in the American marriage rate that began about 1970. This decline has occurred in spite of the fact that married people are better off than unmarried people in many ways. Many other attempts to explain the “retreat from marriage” blame it on culture change involving a devaluation of marriage, and/or on ignorance of the benefits of marriage among the unmarried population. In turn, because unmarried adults and single-parent families are poorer than others, poverty and its associated problems are attributed to the failure to marry.

The argument presented here is that the declining marriage rate is due to the deteriorating position of workers, particularly men, in the American economy. Not only have jobs disappeared and wages decreased, especially for the less-educated, but existing jobs have become more precarious. Less-educated workers can’t count on having jobs in the future, and can’t count on earning enough to support families if they have jobs because their wages have stagnated. In this economic environment, the flexibility to change partners becomes a survival strategy for the economically marginalized population, which has been increasing in size for the past four decades. Arrangements such as cohabitation allow for this flexibility; marriage does not.

This argument implies that marriage is not a realistic choice for many Americans. In fact, it is a choice that many people don’t actually have. Marriages between economically marginal men and women would not eventuate in the benefits that middle-class people experience when they marry, and would eliminate an option they may need to survive in the face of unrelenting poverty. We won’t convince these people that marriage would improve their lives, because in most cases it wouldn’t be true. To return the marriage rate to its pre-1970 level, we need to address the economic factors that have caused the decline.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book documents and explains the remarkable decline in the American marriage rate that began about 1970. This decline has occurred in spite of the fact that married people are better off than unmarried people in many ways. Many other attempts to explain the “retreat from marriage” blame it on culture change involving a devaluation of marriage, and/or on ignorance of the benefits of marriage among the unmarried population. In turn, because unmarried adults and single-parent families are poorer than others, poverty and its associated problems are attributed to the failure to marry.

The argument presented here is that the declining marriage rate is due to the deteriorating position of workers, particularly men, in the American economy. Not only have jobs disappeared and wages decreased, especially for the less-educated, but existing jobs have become more precarious. Less-educated workers can’t count on having jobs in the future, and can’t count on earning enough to support families if they have jobs because their wages have stagnated. In this economic environment, the flexibility to change partners becomes a survival strategy for the economically marginalized population, which has been increasing in size for the past four decades. Arrangements such as cohabitation allow for this flexibility; marriage does not.

This argument implies that marriage is not a realistic choice for many Americans. In fact, it is a choice that many people don’t actually have. Marriages between economically marginal men and women would not eventuate in the benefits that middle-class people experience when they marry, and would eliminate an option they may need to survive in the face of unrelenting poverty. We won’t convince these people that marriage would improve their lives, because in most cases it wouldn’t be true. To return the marriage rate to its pre-1970 level, we need to address the economic factors that have caused the decline.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Eisenhower in Command at Columbia by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book The Rhetoric of Supreme Court Women by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Tempered in the Revolutionary Furnace by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Miguel Pro by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Goethe, Nietzsche, and Wagner by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Misfit Children by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Exploring the Illusion of Free Will and Moral Responsibility by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Underserved Women of Color, Voice, and Resistance by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Elementary Students Practicing Mindfulness by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book The Prisoners' World by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book The Kaprálová Companion by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Tourism and Prosperity in Miao Land by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Senegal Sojourn by Gary R. Lee
Cover of the book Muslim Uyghur Students in a Chinese Boarding School by Gary R. Lee
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy