The Relic of Romance: Why Marriage is an Outdated Institution in the Modern World
For thousands of years, marriage was the bedrock of civilization. It was the primary economic unit, the sole legitimate vehicle for raising children, and the definitive marker of adulthood. To remain unmarried was to be an outcast, a financial failure, or a social pariah. But in the span of just a few generations, the tectonic plates of society have shifted. We have moved from an agrarian society to a digital one, from strict gender hierarchies to striving for egalitarianism, and from a life expectancy of 45 to one pushing 85. Yet, despite these massive transformations, we cling to a model of partnership designed for medieval villagers. The argument is no longer just the domain of cynics or disgruntled divorcees. Sociologists, historians, and economists are increasingly suggesting that marriage—as a legal and social institution—has become an outdated technology. It is a strict, legally binding contract applied to the fluid, emotional realm of love, often creating more fragility...