There is indeed a great deal of rationality to these traditions. I myself am half-Armenian, and while that is not a culture that has arranged marriage, it's go

There is indeed a great deal of rationality to these traditions. I myself am half-Armenian, and while that is not a culture that has arranged marriage, it's got the common folklore of quasi-oriental clan civilisation. Parents are going to have a lot of input into just about anyone's marital choices, and it is understood on all sides that you're not marrying the spouse - you're joining families. So, there is a lot of opportunity for elders to object if a match patently doesn't make cultural (one might even say "civilisational" in extreme cases) sense. That's what we don't have here. You're expected to dig out a partner from whatever corner of society you like, and if they suit you, great! There is something to be said for a paternalistic curation function, despite the annoyances and drawbacks of such a meddlesome way of living. One of the drawbacks of a culture where, on the one hand, family input is very important, but on the other hand, arranged marriage as such is not a thing, is that it's all too easy for relatives to fall into the pattern of pushing the veto lever without proactively introducing you to someone themselves. If everyone's wrong for me, who's right? :) The fact that families have a matchmaking responsibility is an appealing virtue of arranged marriage culture.