> Society, in most parts of the world, doesn’t like when a relationship lasts too long. To society, a relationship is simply a testing ground—an incubator that

> Society, in most parts of the world, doesn’t like when a relationship lasts too long. To society, a relationship is simply a testing ground—an incubator that prepares you for The Decision. And if too many years go by in a relationship without The Decision being made, society decides that something must be wrong. To help right the wrong, society will begin to apply pressure on the couple, from all angles. In polyamorous circles, this is called the "relationship escalator" - the idea that a relationship must escalate up to marriage or be considered a failure. In the polyamorous context this is considered a fallacy, because you can still have another live-in, child-raising relationship while this one ceases to escalate; but in a monogamous context there are real reasons to "fish or cut bait" other than just social pressure. If you're looking to have a married-and-settled-down life and that's not happening with the current partner, you need to pursue that end-state with someone else, and monogamy requires you to break up the non-escalating relationship before you can do that.