In the course of history, approximately 85 percent of societies have practiced polygamy. Pushed by advocates of same-sex marriage and multiculturalism, some scholars, such as the signers of “Beyond Gay Marriage,” argue that it is irrational and bigoted for contemporary society to limit marriage to just two people. However, there is no bigotry in treating different things differently, and there are many important differences between polygamy and monogamy in practice as well as in principle….
Recent empirical research suggests that, in virtually every respect, polygamy is socially detrimental””to society in general, to men, to women, and to children. These problems arise because of the nature of human reproduction.
“In the course of history, approximately 85 percent of societies have practiced polygamy. Pushed by advocates of same-sex marriage and multiculturalism, some scholars…” Tendentious, to say the least.
While I cannot answer for all the polygamous societies that have existed through time, I can say that no currently-existing society that recognizes same-sex marriage sanctions polygamous marriages.
Monogamy + another gamy = bigamy
+ another gamy = polygamy
Many gamys are unlikely to be a good idea.
Less is more.
The article contains more speculation than actual research.
He might as well have asked, “Is a polygamous society any worse off than one that permits and practices serial monogamy?”
Interestingly, the article points out that divorce is [i]higher[/i] in polygamous unions than monogamous unions. Thus “parallel polygamy” actually includes “serial polygamy” in it.