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0 pointsgakada9y ago0 comments

It seems that marriages in capitalist societies are inherently unstable. If rights are equal, then women are incentivised to divorce to "cash in" the value of their husband. If the rights are unequal, then men are incentivised to divorce to "trade up" to a more attractive wife.

It's only agrarian societies that manage to make husband and wife dependent enough on each other that divorce is a bad option for everybody.

0 comments

srtjstjsj9y ago

This is where lawyers help! By soaking up all the marital funds in a divorce, lawyers remove the profit incentive of leaving a partner.

antisthenes9y ago

That's a pretty dark take on the situation, but knowing a few people who have gone through divorce, pretty accurate.

Didn't stop them in the end though.

dpark9y ago

> If rights are equal, then women are incentivised to divorce to "cash in" the value of their husband.

This only applies if earning potential between women and men is wildly disparate. When women can and do earn as much as men, the "cashing in" factor largely goes away.

Godel_unicode9y ago

Source:

http://info.legalzoom.com/happens-divorce-couples-earn-same-...

arcticfox9y ago

I think this is a problem if the actual net worth is significantly different between partners, not earning potential.

dpark9y ago

Sure, but the same logic applies. If your main concern is someone taking your money in a divorce, marry someone who has similar net worth.

srtjstjsj9y ago

For most people, earning potential is 99% of lifetime net worth. The vagaries of the aristoracy aren't that interesting.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsgakada9y ago0 comments

It's only agrarian societies that manage to make husband and wife dependent enough on each other that divorce is a bad option for everybody.

0 comments

srtjstjsj9y ago

This is where lawyers help! By soaking up all the marital funds in a divorce, lawyers remove the profit incentive of leaving a partner.

antisthenes9y ago

That's a pretty dark take on the situation, but knowing a few people who have gone through divorce, pretty accurate.

Didn't stop them in the end though.

dpark9y ago

> If rights are equal, then women are incentivised to divorce to "cash in" the value of their husband.

This only applies if earning potential between women and men is wildly disparate. When women can and do earn as much as men, the "cashing in" factor largely goes away.

Godel_unicode9y ago

Source:

http://info.legalzoom.com/happens-divorce-couples-earn-same-...

arcticfox9y ago

I think this is a problem if the actual net worth is significantly different between partners, not earning potential.

dpark9y ago

Sure, but the same logic applies. If your main concern is someone taking your money in a divorce, marry someone who has similar net worth.

srtjstjsj9y ago

For most people, earning potential is 99% of lifetime net worth. The vagaries of the aristoracy aren't that interesting.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse