18 responses to “Monogamy and Alcohol”

1. 

   john personna

   January 5, 2011 at 8:37 am

   There was a paper that found publication of scientific papers inversely correlated with beer consumption. Presumably a reduction in initiative in both cases.
2. 

   sam

   January 5, 2011 at 8:49 am

   I won’t go into the details, but I’ve always maintained that if my bladder capacity was one cubic centimeter larger or smaller, I wouldn’t have met the woman I’ve been married to for over 30 years…
3. 

   ALP

   January 5, 2011 at 9:18 am

   I would say, that with the, ” Me, I want it all now generation”, that after the initial lust attraction wears off, this might be true. Alcohol is really a depressant, so it would may help someone
   cope better with a relationship that is not perfect and completely satisfying in ones perception.

   Of course, I don’t believe any relationship between two people can be perfect at all times. Lets’ face it. You really don’t get to know another, with all their faults, until you live with them for a long time. I believe it’s a matter of patience, and learning to except the little shortcomings in your partner. It takes time and maturity on both partners for the survival of a relationship long term.

   Of course not all relationships will survive long term. But I believe a lot of people would do better if they weren’t too lazy or selfish to work at it.
4. 

   michael reynolds

   January 5, 2011 at 12:25 pm

   I haven’t found alcohol necessary to maintain a monogamous relationship. But I’ve found it helps me to refrain from killing my kids. One just hit the teen years, the other is coming up fast, so it’ll be regular trips to Costco for the big giant bottles of whiskey for the next few years.
5. 

   James Joyner

   January 5, 2011 at 12:43 pm

   Sadly, Costco doesn’t sell liquor, only wine and beer, in these parts. The Commonwealth of Virginia has maintained a monopoly on spirits.
6. 

   CJ

   January 5, 2011 at 5:20 pm

   My explanation is that (a) civilized people brew beer, and (b) civilized people are monogamous.
7. 

   Donald Sensing

   January 5, 2011 at 5:24 pm

   If I have as much as one beer per quarter, it means I’m binging. My wife doesn’t consume even that much. So how do you account for this?
8. 

   Quilly Mammoth

   January 5, 2011 at 5:29 pm

   What it means is that faced with the choice for an evening’s pleasure of either multiple wives or getting drunk getting drunk wins every time.
9. 

   McGehee

   January 5, 2011 at 5:39 pm

   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.
10. 

    Hucbald

    January 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    Indeed. My drinking was reduced significantly by divorce.
11. 

    Kathy Kinsley

    January 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm

    @Donald Sensing – there’s always an exception to every rule. Congratulations. You’re it!

    (And belated congrats on the anniversary as well.)
12. 

    Paul A’Barge

    January 5, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    So, first you say

    Presumably, however, the only way humans can stand to be with the same partner day after day, year after year, is to get drunk.

    and then you say

    I’m open to other explanations.

    No, you’re not open. You’re a closed minded little man without a shred of insight. And you blog displays that.
13. 

    deagle

    January 5, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    Love the conflict… heh. Seems that this is either true (follow comments) or this is an exaggeration (follow adverse comments)…

    So it is left up to the reader… Well, seems too obvious to me, but what do I know…heh…
14. 

    Porkov

    January 5, 2011 at 9:02 pm

    This is an hypothesis. It requires testing. I recently retired and am available for some double-blind action.
15. 

    Wacky Hermit

    January 5, 2011 at 9:31 pm

    An alternative explanation– though I don’t have any data with which to argue its validity or non-validity– is that a larger proportion of polygynists in our country belong to religious sects that broke off from the LDS church (“Mormons”), with a smaller proportion of the polygynists being Muslims who emigrated from countries where polygyny was allowed.
16. 

    RebeccaH

    January 5, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    Monogamy works in the western world because I, your first wife, have the loyalty of your eldest children, and if I say I’ll kill you for taking another wife, they’ll provide me with an alibi.
17. 

    memomachine

    January 5, 2011 at 11:59 pm

    Hmmmm.

    @ Porkov

    Congratulations! In this double-blind test you’ll have to be married and drink nothing stronger than water.

    I am also participating and, amazingly enough, I’m to remain single and drink single malt scotch for the rest of my life. I wonder if it’s tax deductible now?
18. 

    Greg

    January 6, 2011 at 6:31 am

    If the only way some of you can stand the sight of your spouse is through beer goggles, I pity you. Even more, I pity your spouse.