4 ms·

I thought marriage was about love, but if it ends up being about managing resources then why not start something like a company with equal(or not) shares, vesti

by fosk 9y ago

I thought marriage was about love, but if it ends up being about managing resources then why not start something like a company with equal(or not) shares, vesting periods, etc? It would make more sense to me because it's a more efficient way of dealing with shared assets than the current legal form of marriage.

upvotinglurker 9y ago
Marriage being "about love" is a relatively recent phenomenon. It has previously been about managing resources, making family political/social alliances, and (as it still is) creating social and economic stability for children. I don't have, want, or even particularly like children, and even I have a problem thinking of them as "shares" or "assets" or pre-deciding their fate with a formal contract written before they were born or old enough to express their own wishes.
pamqzl 9y ago
Because people who are in love want to get married, like their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great-parents and [etc] did, not "start something like company for the holding of joint assets". Getting married is romantic and irrational, and that's why we enjoy doing it.
nl 9y ago
Sure, think of marriage as a default, off-the-shelf standard contract which attempts to make sure neither party is aggrieved if a split happens. You can of course use a non-standard contract. It's called a pre-nup, and it has both the downsides and upsides of a non-standard contract.
lookACamel 9y ago
Because every couple is different. Marriage is incredibly simple. The actual complexities of marriage don't come from marriage itself but from all the shit left undefined, which has to worked out ad-hoc per couple. I'm sure if you were the dictator and God-King of a small country, where you could reinvent society as you wish, you might be able to create something that would fit 99% of the population, since you would be able to forcibly squeeze the behavior of each couple into a few standardized containers with corresponding legal rulesets.

by fosk 9y ago

upvotinglurker 9y ago

Marriage being "about love" is a relatively recent phenomenon. It has previously been about managing resources, making family political/social alliances, and (as it still is) creating social and economic stability for children. I don't have, want, or even particularly like children, and even I have a problem thinking of them as "shares" or "assets" or pre-deciding their fate with a formal contract written before they were born or old enough to express their own wishes.

pamqzl 9y ago

Because people who are in love want to get married, like their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great-parents and [etc] did, not "start something like company for the holding of joint assets". Getting married is romantic and irrational, and that's why we enjoy doing it.

nl 9y ago

Sure, think of marriage as a default, off-the-shelf standard contract which attempts to make sure neither party is aggrieved if a split happens. You can of course use a non-standard contract. It's called a pre-nup, and it has both the downsides and upsides of a non-standard contract.

lookACamel 9y ago

Because every couple is different. Marriage is incredibly simple. The actual complexities of marriage don't come from marriage itself but from all the shit left undefined, which has to worked out ad-hoc per couple. I'm sure if you were the dictator and God-King of a small country, where you could reinvent society as you wish, you might be able to create something that would fit 99% of the population, since you would be able to forcibly squeeze the behavior of each couple into a few standardized containers with corresponding legal rulesets.