The events in those little communities suggests an answer to the question: Why do polygamous practices not have a eugenic effect? (They should: As multiple women would seemingly share superior men.) But the men aren't selected on a meritorious basis by women, but that of unthinking allegience by other men.

The events in those little communities suggests an answer to the question: Why do polygamous practices not have a eugenic effect?

well, they do exhibit high frequencies of particular deleterious alleles. this might have the affect of pumping out genetic load by exposing the alleles as homozygotes which express recessively. but of course mostly it is just deliverance land....

now: re eugenics & mating. arranged vs. non-arranged does assortative mating along difference principles i'd bet.

Outstanding post, IMHO.

This makes me think of a time, years ago, when my wife and I planned to spend a weekend in a part of Missouri dominated by Mennonites. (These are guys who wear old-time clothes, don't use electricity or much modern technology in their daily lives, ride horse-drawn carts to town to sell handcrafted items, etc.) We had hotel reservations in this town, which was pretty obviously the site of a huge rift between current Mennonites and fallen-away Mennonites.

Along the country roads, you'd routinely see huge, clean, apparently prosperous farmhouses with no electricity or cars, and you'd see big families full of oddly-dressed kids headed to town in horse-drawn carts. In town, it seemed like about half the houses were trailers surrounded by what seemed like every bit of technology you could find--you'd see a tiny trailer with a satellite dish, a truck, a boat, a couple motorcycles, a four wheeler, etc. It seemed really obvious that this was what happened to a lot of those who fell away--they basically decided "f-ck this sh-t" and went for everything in the Sears catalog or on the showroom floor.

The odd thing is, the town had an absolutely creepy feel, so much so that we cancelled our hotel reservation and stayed in the nearest decent-sized town, about 50 miles away. There was a weird mix of mutual hostility and contempt going on, as far as we could tell, between outsiders who lived there to make money off tourists coming to see Mennonite country, fallen away Mennonites, and Mennonites in good standing. It was just creepy.

Mennonites have moved into my area, and they seem quite well accepted. They sell crafts and produce in town, and when you run into them occasionally they're quite pleasant.

Some of the country Lutherans I know are halfway Mennonite by generic American standards. Farming as a service to God, frugality and temperance, family values, mildness and restraint.

Polygamy of the sort practiced by this Mormon group may be extremely rare in America, but de facto polygamy is not uncommon at all. It occurs when an Alpha male is involved with two (or even more) women at the same time. The classic example is the married executive who keeps a mistress on the side. There's also a passive variety, which occurs when a woman hopes (sometimes realistically, sometimes not) that an Alpha will come along to sweep her off her feet and, in the meantime, spurns any ordinary men who express interest in her.

De facto polygamy has the potential for causing all sorts of heartache for non-Alpha men, as they face a diminished supply of available women. Sometime, just for laughs, compare the Men Seeking Women category with the Women Seeking Men category on Craigslist; the former will be far larger than the latter, especially if you limit your consideration to people under age 35 or so. Pay sites such as eHarmony.com and Match.com are just as bad. Even the old standby of getting a mail-order bride may not longer be possible thanks to restrictive federal legislation.

Bottom line: if you're a single non-Alpha man, for instance if you'd rather go to a sci-fi convention than to an NFL game, be prepared for a lifetime of celibate bachelorhood, whether you want to or not.

the mennonite tradition might not be the best case study insofar as they place a lot of emphasis on free choice in terms of allowing for defection from the community. the amish for example have high rates of defection during their trial period of trying out modern life. they don't want anyone in their communities who aren't totally committed. it's part of their religious orientation where they don't perceive themselves to be a church universal, but rather a saved remnant.

The rate of economic and social growth, and the disjointed nature of the process, means that the past and the present and the future all face each other every day.

Airline sacrifices goats to appease sky god.

Peter said:
if you're a single non-Alpha man, for instance if you'd rather go to a sci-fi convention than to an NFL game, be prepared for a lifetime of celibate bachelorhood, whether you want to or not.

Why all the gloom and doom. I'm a middle aged, non-Alpha male, like to play video games in my spare time, and read and comment on blogs - don't like to socialize much, don't go out much.

Yet I have had great success using online dating - by which I mean I have had a steady stream of dates over the last 7 years. This has resulted in 2 long term relationships, and now I've just got engaged and will soon be married again.

To my way of thinking online dating is a godsend to non-Alpha males.

My key piece of advice to you is to tailor your online profile to the kind of girl who is interested in meeting a geek or nerd, and trust me there are so many of them out there. When you meet this person on a first date, just be your geeky or nerdy self, and see what happens...

Airline sacrifices goats to appease sky god.

Holy cow, WTF