by John Mancini
The case for marriage has a lot going for it. Married persons are, on average, happier, more purposeful, and less lonely. They’re more likely to thrive and report higher life satisfaction. Married persons are, in a real sense, living their best lives.
Conspicuously, marriage’s benefits plausibly derive from the fact that most married couples live and spend the rest of their lives together. Surely, if I’m spending every waking moment with the love of my life, I will generally be happier and less lonely. Surely, if I help raise a family, my life will feel more meaningful. This seems intuitive. It also, however, poses a problem for marriage proponents: If married couples tend to flourish because they typically live (and start a family) together, then the above research does not provide a case for marriage so much as a case for cohabitation. That is, if marriage’s benefits derive from living with one’s beloved, then why can’t I secure marriage’s goods by simply living with my beloved rather than marrying her? If marriage isn’t necessary to flourish, then why get married?
