Women or Wine? Monogamy and Alcohol

The headline is the title of an intriguing new working paper [PDF] by two University of Leuven economists Mara Squicciarini and Jo Swinnen. The two note an interesting correlation between societies that practice monogamy and those that drink alcohol. As the abstract explains:

Intriguingly, across the world the main social groups which practice polygyny do not consume alcohol. We investigate whether there is a correlation between alcohol consumption and polygynous/monogamous arrangements, both over time and across cultures. Historically, we find a correlation between the shift from polygyny to monogamy and the growth of alcohol consumption. Cross-culturally we also find that monogamous societies consume more alcohol than polygynous societies in the preindustrial world. We provide a series of possible explanations to explain the positive correlation between monogamy and alcohol consumption over time and across societies.

In fact the two economists find that more drinking means more monogamy. So what are the possible explanations for this correlation? After performing a cross-cultural analysis using historical data, they find:

There is a strong negative correlation between polygyny and Frequency of Drunkenness.

Or conversely put, the data:

…indicate a positive correlation between monogamy and alcohol consumption (and especially between monogamy and drunkenness) across societies.

(I am charmed by the fact that some academicians have gone to the trouble of generating such a thing as a Frequency of Drunkenness ethnographic index.)

Squicciarini and Swinnen note that formal monogamy was introduced in ancient Greece and Rome which were wine drinking societies as a opposed to beer swilling societies. As wine-making spread through Europe monogamy also expanded. I am less persuaded by their over all analysis of alcohol consumption and male competition for resources, but take a look and see what you think.

Comments

[AT]

This article does not mention whiskey drinkers. What are they to think?

[Ecolibertarian]

Historically, human tolerance for alcohol increased as societies urbanized and the disease environment became more unfavorable. I could also see how urbanization would reduce the ability of high-status men to secure multiple wives against lower-status male competition. So perhaps endogeneity due to omitted variable bias?

[Wind Rider]

What a load of pompous crap. On the other hand, put more people into a confined space, and the urge to drink just to deal with all the other assholes increases exponentially comes to mind. Additionally, is this a causality/correlation mistake, attributing monogamy to more drinking, or more drinking to monogamy? I'd say the latter. Can't have more partners? DRINK!

[robc]

I think you have it backwards. Urbanization was the result of alcohol, not the cause.

[cynical]

Perhaps they omitted a variable like, say, global religions which have things to say both about monogamy and alcohol consumption?

[Slut Bunwalla]

They clearly omitted global warming, which as we all know is the cause and the result of anything any human does.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I thought it was all Bush's fault?

[Windtell]

Obviously, the two main societies involved are Christians and Muslims.

I'd like to see them research pork's role in promoting monogamy, I think they could do amazing work on this topic.

I hope they get nominated for an ignobel.

[ClubMedSux]

Women or Bacon?

[Take your prick]

You'd rather fuck a pig?

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I'd rather eat bacon than some women I've met.

[Rather]

I hope you boy it dinner first. 😉

[Episiarch]

For some reason, rectal, this makes more sense than you usually don't do.

[Rather]

Epi, I missed you. I've been having a riot on twitter fighting with an Epi-light. Some pig named Pat Dollard.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

"Twitter fighting"? Jesus, that sounds like an even more collossal waste of time and life energy than commenting here.

[Rather]

The pig reads my blog. I never post on Twitter but his army of zealots induced me to play-you know how shy I am!

[Chupacabra]

So he's the one who reads your "blog"!

[joe]

depends on the bacon, dependsa on the woman

porkchop or tom cruise and nicole kidman, that's a real Thomist problem to chew on

[paloma]

Aren't Jews monogamous?

[Windtell]

Yeah, but a few million Jews into a billion or so Muslims shouldn't skew their research results too much.

I'm sure there are polygamous societies that drink alcohol too. Ignoring contradictory evidence should be the bedrock of any sponsored research.

[SugarFree]

"Your labia is why I drink."

[Wind Rider]

Got a thing against a great set of meat curtains?

[Ska]

Hopefully my pelvis and nut sack.

[Rather]

Ska, you win comment of the day. The prize? Epi will blow you

[SugarFree]

I love hatchet wounds as much as the next guy.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Ah, but how much does the next guy love them?

[SugarFree]

Granted. I probably love them more than average. I can at least spend time with them with the lights on.

[I heard you were into organics]

http://reason.com/blog/2011/01.....nt_2066819

[Windtell]

At first I thought "Your labia is why I drink" was just a misdirected anti-Muslim slam (it's African tribes that do that, no Muslims), but now I'm not so sure.

So .. wtf was that comment about nutrasweet?

[CTD]

Correlation is not causation, duh. It's not that drinking causes more monogamy, it's the other way around.

[Tommy Grand]

Getting drunk causes monogamy;
Monogamy increases one's desire to be drunk.

Either/Both seem plausible. Call the mythbusters.

[Abdul]

I was thinking that multiple wives is negatively correlated with drinking because the extra wives can inhibit drinking by taking turns with their nagging, such that the husband has no respite.

[Some other guy]

In many of the alcohol-free religious cultures, it is taught that drinking causes promiscuity.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

... and then they go and rape their own women for having brought shame to the family by being seen in public with a guy.

[IceTrey]

Isn't a harem a form of promiscuity?

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

That apparently depends on whether alcohol is involved.

[wylie]

In fact the two economists find that more drinking means more monogamy. So what are the possible explanations for this correlation?

the data: ...indicate a positive correlation between monogamy and alcohol consumption

Huh? Am I having a reading comprehension problem, or did that post get all circular? "What's the explanation for the correlation? The Correlation, of course!"

[skr]

It's obvious why drunken men would only have one wife. Being bitched at by five wives after drinking with the boys was just too much to deal with.

[Warty]

I had too much to drink
Said I was out with the boys
I creep in my bedroom
I slip into bed,
I know if I wake her,
I'll wake up dead

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Is there ever a wrong time for some old-school Megadeth?

[Warty]

Funerals? No. Weddings? No. Church? Obviously not. I'm pretty sure that Megadeth improves any situation.

[Episiarch]

The riff in "Wake Up Dead" is one of the best of all time (after the time change later in the song).

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

My favorite on that album is Good Morning/Black Friday. Bad Omen and My Last Words kick ass pretty well, too.

[Pain]

One of my absolute faves. It amazes me that I still get the same rush now even after I have heard it like 10,000 times in the last two decades.

[JB]

Awesome!

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I drink to deal with the fact that I have to be monogamous. The options are be monogamous and drink, or go sleep with other women and lose at least half of all my stuff and my income. And then I'd still drink. Or maybe drink even more.

[Wind Rider]

Well, then, you're doing it wrong. By limiting oneself to such a false choice, I guess such an outcome is inevitable. The key is to develop a relationship with a woman who does not mind you being poly - and there are poly females out there. The biggest key is honesty, and eventually drinking becomes an inhibitor that just spoils the fun.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

After 22 years together, 20+ of which as maritally-joined hubby and wife, with two teenagers, it's a bit late.

[Wind Rider]

Or it might be the right time. A lot of swingers of my acquaintance got into the lifestyle after the kids were out of the nest. Honesty is the key. Simply say what you'd like. Get her to simply do the same. You might be amazed what level of comfort is mutually agreeable. And keep in mind, that if you reach such a point succesfully, the only thing that WILL trash it is sneaking around, lying - in other words not continuing with the complete honesty - and being attuned to what her comfort level actually is. Always judge her non-verbal or verbal cues - there are enough possibilities that you don't need to mess around with someone she really doesn't like, which is usually the trigger to the 'instinctual' rejections or animosity over the issue. If done correctly, the resultant outcome is her satisfaction that two people she cares about a great deal had a wonderful time.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

You remember back when Bill Clinton had his Monica moment? Who was the Congressman who made the joke about how if he had done that, the last thing he would see would be his wife standing over him, saying, "How the hell do I reload this thing?"

Yeah, kinda like that.

[Troll]

I don't know who this Wind Rider fella is, but I like his style...

[Ayn_Randian]

I would put the percentage of "poly" females at >1%. Face it, free women just are not OK with polygamy. You have a rare few who are, and more than a few airhead wannabes who pretend until their instincts kick in.

[Wind Rider]

Although the number, percentage wise, is probably very low, I never quantified it, because I have no idea other than experience, nor any research to cite - oh, and don't forget to include the number of women who discover that they are in fact bi-sexual, and via the desire for both types of companionship, depending on the circumstance, by definition leads them to poly behavior. And my guess is that if all the cards were really on the table, that percentage would be greater than 1% of the population (though likely not in the double digit range). The whole 'cards on the table' aspect is the huge speed bump, particularly in American society. People have wants and desires that they will rarely admit even to themselves, much less to their partners, or even strangers.

[Paul]

What about one woman having multiple husbands?

[Wind Rider]

There are many forms of human interaction that do not require cumbersome legal description or entanglement. Usually because they defy the level of average human imagination to quantify. In many respects it is a discussion of apples versus oranges. What people do, and what is codified in law. On occasion, the two intersect.

[Goobs]

Or because, when practiced in reality, they lead to a lot of negative social outcomes. Typically, societies that allow one woman to have more than one male spouse are societies where the woman is treated like a prostitute. Just like most societies where one man has multiple wives tend to result in systems where the women are barred away and made available to a select few powerful males. It's a bummer, but we can't ignore those consequences (outlawing the practices is not the same as refusing to ignore the consequences.)

I'm sure that- for you- your fun lifestyle seems nice and mature and great, but don't make the mistake assuming that what works for you in practice could work at scale.

[Wind Rider]

Oh, there are no such illusions - it is most certainly not for everyone. The examples you point to are proof of this, when it is done wrong. And there are millions of ways to do it wrong. Polyamory only works one way, and for a very limited number of people.The foundations must be honesty and respect. Factors considered irrelevant or just ignored in your scenarios.

[Rohdewarrior]

Did you mean

[Rohdewarrior]

Did you mean less than 1%? Or was this based on a survey of multiple porn sites and then a total discombobulation?

[Warty]

If I remember my Tacitus, the ancient Germans were strictly monogamous and loved the fuck out of beer. So there's that.

[John]

+1000 for the Tacitus reference. And you do remember correctly. He describes them as drinking the stuff in copious amounts.

[Andr]

Not much has changed.

[ClubMedSux]

Prior to the development of monastic, state and commercial breweries (and in some instances contemporaneous to said breweries) it was the women who brewed beer for the household. As such, if you wanted to drink you HAD to stay monogamous (or, alternatively, not get caught).

[prolefeed]

No, the ancient Germans were allegedly strictly monogamous. Homo Sapiens is not one of the tiny subset of completely monogamous species.

[Warty]

Fair enough.

[Bill]

From studies of many birds and mammals, including humans, there are many species that "appear" to be monogamous but in reality or only semi-monogamous.

See books like "The Myth of Monogamy" and also more popular ones by Jared Diamond, etc.

Apparently, the females of many species will mate with the highest quality males and then be "monogamous" with a good provider and let the "husband" raise the other offspring along with some of their own. Whaddya know?

[Sam Grove]

Polygamist" "Who has time to get drunk?"

[Wesley]

If you drink enough, you can pretend she's different people.

[Warty]

I know a guy who's happily polyamorous. It seems like an awful lot of work, but the rewards must be worth it. He drinks a ton, though.

[John]

It would be a lot of work I think. The problem is that women are just nesters. They want to nest and are possessive as hell. That is what makes such a life either impossible or so much work even where it is possible.

[Wind Rider]

Find the right women, and no, it's not all that difficult. Complete honesty is the actual key ingredient. Most of the bad emotional outcome I've ever noted, both personally and in other's situations, came from the perception of lying or 'sneaking around'. There does need to be a certain level of personal emotional security for all participants - in my view, every woman that says she 'won't tolerate such behavior' has simply just eliminated herself from any possibility. . .doesn't get much easier than that.

[paloma]

But then why get MARRIED? Why not just screw around? Unless you like giving away half your stuff when your "tolerant" wife gets tired of your crap and finds someone else.

[Wind Rider]

Because 'just screwing around' is basically a dishonest lefestyle, particularly if the partners have an exectation of exclusivity, whether physically or emotionally. Currently there are societal and legal benefits to creating a state sanctioned partnership - which answers your 'why' question. The only reason, however, that I personally am in such an arrangement, is that one of the women I've mentioned, who actually also enjoys the poly lifestyle, found me.

[prolefeed]

A few women really aren't possessive, as I can attest to from personal experience.

It's pretty rare, though, unless she's grown up in one of the fundie Mormon or other poly societies.

[Jim]

Squicciarini and Swinnen note that formal monogamy was introduced in ancient Greece and Rome which were wine drinking societies as a opposed to beer swilling societies.

So, people drink wine but swill beer? What an elitist statement! Beer is at least as complex as wine and much more enjoyable.

[Zeb]

Who says you can't swill something good and enjoy it at the same time?

[Walsh]

If I had five wives, there's no way I could afford to keep them all in liquor.

[Rather]

try Formaldehyde

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

That way they'll stay young and beautiful forever.

[Rather]

and juicy

[Episiarch]

The new Damien Hirst exhibit: The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living in Your House with Access to Your Bank Account.

[Lord Humungus]

+100 internets for the lulz

[Ska]

Should have posted this under the handle Boyd Fowler.

[RyanXXX]

I'm guessing it's because cultures that forbid alcohol consumption are more strict, conservative, and uber-patriarchal. The same kind of place that would allow for polygamy (only with one man and several women, of course)

[IceTrey]

I once heard that the western societies tended to use cisterns while middle easterners preferred running water sources. Still water is more likely to go bad, so the westerners drank alcoholic beverages because it was safer. That's more of a correlation than monogamy.

[Ragnar]

What a load of crap. In my experience, alcohol leads to an absence of monogamy, especially after midnight.

[SugarFree]

But what about drinking in polyandric cultures? If I knew I was facing a life of sloppy seconds (or thirds or fourths), recreational alcohol abuse looks like a good choice.

[Episiarch]

Considering how extremely rare polyandric societies are, I don't think you can get a good baseline. Remember, librarian--oops, I mean archivist: I'm the one with the anthropology degree, not you.

[SugarFree]

Go suck a yanomamo.

[Episiarch]

They're not polyandrous.

[SugarFree]

Fine. Go suck a Lacedaemonian.

[Episiarch]

Spare me your laconophilia. You masturbate to posters of Worf, don't you. Probably Alexander, actually.

[SugarFree]

I only masturbate to pictures of Warty. It allows me enjoy women that much more.

[Episiarch]

Warty, Alexander; what's the difference?

[SugarFree]

Warty is all muscley and polyperverse.

[Episiarch]

You would know.

[SugarFree]

"You would know."

I'm not in the mood for another argument about epistemology.

[Warty]

A GIS for "muscley polyperverse" finds me this gem. That's approximately how I look.

[SugarFree]

I assumed you were at least bipedal. Hawt.

[Episiarch]

Warty is Lou Ferrigno?

[Warty]

If I believed in any gods, I'd be thanking them day and night for not making me a swarthy greaseball. I don't care how awesome the Hulk is.

[Rather]

What do you call a man with 2 asses?

[Barney Frank]

lucky

[Warty]

Shut the fuck up, rctl.

[Wind Rider]

Kudos to Epi, Warty, and SF for presenting the epitome of a guilt-free three way.

[Warty]

We're completely honest with each other. That's the key. That and the fact that Epi gives us coke.

[SugarFree]

Is it really a three way if Epi only watches and Warty spends the entire time weeping?

[Warty]

You specifically requested that scenario, dickless. I told you before, there's no fucking refunds.

[Rather]

Make be biatch! Warty I was doing some blogging on inter-dimensional time travel and guess what? You're an asshole on planet#69 too.

[Warty]

"Make be biatch"? What the fuck is that? I'd love to be insulted, but I can only do that if your insults make a little bit of sense.

What is your first language, anyway?

[SugarFree]

What is your first language, anyway?

Is mumbling with a mouthful of cock a language? I'm sure she's fluent, in any case.

[Warty]

I assumed Esperanto. But I guess it's the same thing, really.

[generic Brand]

Esperanto is only slightly more legitimate than ebonics, but neither is as legitimate as "mumbling with a mouthful of cock" as SugarFree so elegantly put. At least with the latter some sort of work is actually getting done.

[Rather]

I know Sugarfree is getting a lot of work done but his ass needs the day off

[Rather]

Sugarfree, I don't get that your ass full of cocks (yes more than 1) makes you bilingual? Is it some sort of pelvic thrust induced "squeal like a pig" in Morse code?

[SugarFree]

If you weren't such a useless shitrag, I'd feel sorry that this is the best comeback you can post. As is... fuck off, you worthless blogwhore.

[Rather]

Sad to say but you bore me Sugarfree. I think you lost your edge with this diabetes thing. Oh, and sorry about your dick falling off.Thank god the wife didn't think it was a used tampon and flushed the little sucker! I'm sure you can find a doctor to crazy glue it back on now that we have public HC.

[comprehend?]

sorry Warty, I'll speak in your maternal language: Get your bitch ass out on the street and make me some money.

[Warty]

I'm not as hard-hearted as SugarFree. I feel sorry for you, rctl. Each one of your insult attempts makes me sadder than the last.

[Rather]

Funny, I feel sorry for you too. What's it like being a Beta male? Do you bleed every month? Call me, I'll take you to lunch.

[Wind Rider]

Wow, looks like I missed quite a bit, bitches. The wife and I were out shopping for a new bed, the old one broke. Seven people on it, a Sybian at full blast. Hey, shit happens.

[Rather]

Sugarfree ans Warty lick-up coprophilia story-go on about the shit

[generic Brand]

You have an anthropology degree? Me too! It's worth the paper it's printed on... and that is all. It is nice to be able to tell people that I know things because I'm an anthropologist though.

[Desiderius]

presume not god to scan

[Desiderius]

presume not god to scan

[Desiderius]

double-posting is fine, tho

[R C Dean]

Both monogamy and alcohol consumption strike me as epiphenomenon of some other underlying dynamic.

The notion that highly conservative, patriarchal/monotheistic/(quasi-)theocratic cultures are correlated with both alcohol prohibition and polygamy strikes me as the place to start. Hell, that correlation holds true even in the US with the Mormons.

[SugarFree]

Maybe polyamory is compensation for banning alcohol. The masses don't have to have just one opium, after all.

[Paul]

Many lovers, maybe. But many wives? I can't think of a better reason to drink, and drink heavily.

[SugarFree]

I imagine a situation where the wives have no real rights or the cultural basis/acceptance to refuse anything you want to do to them is a pretty good deal.

Modern polygamy? Nope. Just more women to bitch at me about the dishes. Pre-modern polygamy is all "Get on your knees, bitch."

[Mrs Sugarfree]

Get on your knees, biatch

[prolefeed]

Ever seen the new cable TV series "Sister Wives"? The guy, who has four wives, is one happy fucker.

[Apple]

Because his newest one is relatively attractive.

[paloma]

I'm wondering about those rural African societies where a man has three or four wives to grow yams or whatever, while he kind of presides over everything like a CEO. I think they drink, but not heavily. Conservative and patriarchal, but not usually monotheistic or theocratic.

[paloma]

I'm wondering about those rural African societies where a man has three or four wives to grow yams or whatever, while he kind of presides over everything like a CEO. I think they drink, but not heavily. Conservative and patriarchal, but not usually monotheistic or theocratic.

[Irresponsible Hater]

How do they define "polygamy" and "monogamy"?

That is, do they control for the modern, distinction-blurring form of polygamy known as serial-marriage/divorce?

How's drinking correlate with that? I have a guess...

[Paul]

I'm thinking that this is a dubious correlation. At the least, there are probably dozens of correlating factors working in parallel, not necessarly being caused by the other.

The rise of monogamy is probably correlated to some other markers in society which also probably increase alcohol consumption at the same time. Just a guess, but on its face, the question itself seems way oversimplified. (haven't read the whole article)

[Free to Booze]

The connection is fairly obvious. Once a woman feels secure in a monogamous relationship, she let's herself go and starts to pack on the lbs. This results in increased alcohol consumption by men in order to "drink her pretty" before making sweet, sweet love for 2-5 minutes then passing out to avoid having to utter the words "I love you too honey".

[Ayn_Randian]

Shocking that the immaturity and not-so-veiled misogyny comes out on a "women and booze" subject.

I used to defend this elsewhere, but I think I've grown up too much for this.

[Rather]

Huh, you didn't notice the immaturity and misogyny before this thread?

[Ayn_Randian]

I am saying that a personal mental shift has occurred at some point. The shift took me from taking a lighthearted view to finding these sorts of things repugnant.

[Warty]

So you got old. Now it's time to buy a Volvo and inspect your fire alarms yearly. Enjoy your oldness, you old fuck.

[Ayn_Randian]

Damn. That's probably it. Where did I put those Werther's?

[Warty]

TV advertisements in Germany and the United Kingdom from around 1997 featured a kindly looking mustachioed old man offering Werther's caramel to his grandson. In what has now become commonplace, these were shot in what is termed 'limited palette'[clarification needed] to reflect the product brand, and suggested a halcyon age of innocence, nuclear families and good old-fashioned sweets. The grandfather in the first UK ads had a bushy beard and spoke with an American accent, and was later localized to clean shaven with Received Pronunciation. In the ads aired in the US, veteran TV actor Robert Rockwell played the kind-hearted grandfather.
One UK advert consisted of a montage of the grandfather and grandson bonding together (for example, pointing at animals out of train windows). The lyrics of the song which accompanied this ended: "When one who loves you says to you: You're someone very special too."

The thing about the American accent intrigues me. Do Limeys associate it with kindly old men? Why?

[SugarFree]

The American accent really turns on British grandsons.

[Rich]

I see that this paper is by (apparently) two women and for "The American Association of Wine Economists". It'd be interesting to see the correlations between producers of such studies with monogamy and alcohol.

[prolefeed]

Cross-culturally we also find that monogamous societies consume more alcohol than polygynous societies in the preindustrial world.

No duh, Sherlock. A couple of decades of a man being told you can only have sex with one woman, you'd want a few drinks, too.

And how do they account for Mormons, who went from polygamous to so very thoroughly anti-polygamous, yet no drinking allowed the entire time?

[John]

I am not sure the Mormons were ever that thoroughly polygamous. The leaders were certainly polygamous. But they were generally scoundrels looking for post hoc justifications for sleeping with their followers.

I am not sure the rank and file Mormon ever was too fond of polygamy. It wasn't an original tenant of the religion. Joseph Smith only thought it up later. I think that explains why they gave it up so readily in return for admission to the union.

[pmains]

Tenet. Tenet of the religion. As distinct from tenants, who rent or lease rooms/offices/apartments/etc.

[Wind Rider]

No, the reason that the Mormons latched on to polygamy was that so many of the Mormon men were killed as they were driven cross country by 'the righteous' who were certain that the Mormons were blasphemous heretics. By the time they were driven out of Illinois and Missouri, the lack of able bodied men made it almost a necessity. It's my understanding that instead of having one big house with everyone living together, one man would be responsible for all the 'man chores' on two, three or more homesteads and farms. The sexual aspect was still very ritualised, and supposedly only for procreation, not 'man chore' rewards. . .

[roystgnr]

Wind Rider, that's a 20th century Mormon rationalization for polygamy, not a 19th century reason for it. Check the Utah censuses - men outnumbered women in every count.

[Wind Rider]

Oh and the response to "how did they go from pro to against so quickly? Not really all that quick - there was enough time for a new generation of male children to be born and mature, re-balancing the demographic shortage that caused the Morons to embrace polygamy in the first place.

[Goobs]

Why is this a surprise?

(Relatively) un-free societies see power concentrated in the ruling elite. Polygamy is a prime attribute of un-free societies, as the ruling elite has taken great pains to ensure that they corner all the important resources- including women. And as we all know, there is no one more likely to restrict how you use your body than a member of the ruling elite.

Polygamy is about one guy getting all the women and locking out other males. Monogamy is a compromise, wherein a bunch of people with relatively similar power agree on a solution (pairing off, rather than one winner and dozens of losers) that benefits everybody.

So, in general, countries where monogamy is the rule are also more likely to be free. And free countries tend to allow the masses to drink more. *shrug*

[sanja]

Neither action is responsible, though I suppose they should be allowed . . . bur from the comments here I guess that the cretins would like to have both in superabundance. That is why we are crumbling as a society!

[SugarFree]

Couldn't confine your dipshittery to just one thread, I see.

[John]

Some dipshittery can't be caged.

[SugarFree]

Extremely well done, John.

[paloma]

Fun factoid. Men with higher levels of vasopressin tend to be monogamous.

[Definitely Anonymous]

I know one thing for certain: Nothing enhances a good roll with the old lady more than a mutual drunk.

[JDW]

One wife requires alcohol, and copious amounts, to keep the relationship...viable? Interesting? Whereas, numerous wives, that can be traded nightly removes any need for an intoxicating distraction. Multiple wives mean competition amongst the women. They'll vie for attention and never assume they have their man under complete control. In a polygamous relationship each wife fights, through various sexy-pants methods, for the focus of her husband. He's too busy juggling poon to need beer. Or, he's Muslim and just hits all of 'em and threatens death if they don't grab ankle. Your monogamous husband will joke: "why would I want five wives, when I have one?". Why? Because five wives will never dare withold a BJ when you're ten minutes late to Jimmie's piano recital. One will give in for the upper hand, such are the wiles of women. And, would they ever conspire to form a "Wive's Union"...you get a sexier, younger, sixth or seventh wife and kick the older hags out!! Both union and hydra-headed headache broken!! And replaced by hot young wives! AWESOME!!!

[Dean]

"Squicciarini and Swinnen note that formal monogamy was introduced in ancient Greece and Rome..."

What is that supposed to mean? Are they saying that no other societies had formal monogamy before that? How about the Jews? Weren't the Egyptians monogamous? Or, are they saying that the Greeks and Romans were polygamous before they started making wine? That phrase, "was introduced," is pretty darn vague and confusing.

[Mr. Muckle]

"In fact the two economists find that more drinking means more monogamy" They have the formulation the wrong way around.

[Alcohol Rehab New York]

I'd bet alcohol consumption is more widespread than polygamy among societies at least in part because civilized societies use money ? which lets people see that getting drunk is cheaper.

[Alcohol Rehab New York]

I'd bet alcohol consumption is more widespread than polygamy among societies at least in part because civilized societies use money ? which lets people see that getting drunk is cheaper.