Does Polygamy Weaken Society?

“An anthropologist argues that polygamy is harmful as Canada considers whether having multiple wives is a constitutional right.” Our neighbors to the North take a surprising turn. “Anthropologist Joseph Henrich warns that the practice of taking multiple wives generally drives men into competition that is ‘increasingly dangerous to society and to themselves.’ This tends to make women ‘valuable objects rather than loveable people’ and leads men to try to ‘control them more carefully.’ The upshot is greater inequality between the sexes, a push for younger and younger wives, and lesser male investment in their individual children and wives.”