Posted by:
Troy
(
)
Date: December 15, 2011 12:53AM
"I just said that there are more definitions of polygamy than what you present."
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And in law, we have to address them separately when the behaviors are altogether different and present different risks, if any. If we have to come up with different terms to separate the practice of a formal kind of polygamy, like what we see most of the time in religious polygamy, from what we usually call "polyamory," which is more akin to having an open relationship without the intent to formalize it as a legal marriage. I refuse to categorize them together, since I see it as an ethical matter <i>prior</i> to how the law is going to be able to cope with it, which is a later consideration.
"I also disagreed with your claim that it's somehow unfair to men when men have multiple wives. So are these men the victims of abuse that you are protecting, and I am complaining about that?"
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When we're considering human rights, we have to address the matter of capabilities. In a just society, if a person has the capability to have a partner (loosely-termed) then society should not allow practices that systematically deny that capability to some but not to others. That's when it ceases to be a right. In the heterosexual demographic, just like any other, we should allow everyone to have this capability so they can choose or reject it on their own. In a society where the heterosexual demographic is <i>roughly</i> 50/50, like our own young adult generation, we can't allow practices that deny these capabilities to some while allowing others to engage in them in excess.
Polygamy takes more than the basic social contract can provide. What the social contract provides is the human rights package, and that includes this capabilities perspective. In a just society, people who have the capability to have a partner should not be systematically denied the means to exercise that capability. Another way of looking at this is to think that in a society like ours, an otherwise healthy person should be allowed the capability to live to an old age. If someone else denies them that capability by murdering them that is what defines the abuse of their human rights.
Simply put, if conditions permit everyone to have the capability to engage in a protected right, like marriage, we shouldn't allow other practices that interfere with this capability. Polygamy does this inherently and thus it fails the standard for consideration as a protected human right.
"Back up your claims, Troy."
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I've done just that. If you know of a claim I haven't backed up (using quotes from me, of course), kindly point it out.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2011 12:55AM by Troy.