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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 19, 2026

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It's not really accurate to say that humans are 'not monogamous'. We are not perfectly monogamous, but we are mostly monogamous. The modal human reproductive unit is, and always has been, one man and one woman.

There are some cultures that allow a degree of polygyny for elite men, but those cultures are being outcompeted by monogamous ones because polygamy reduces fertility.

To say 'humans are polygynous' because a small minority of societies allow a small minority of men more than one wife, is a bit like saying Japan is a violent country because some small percentage of the population commits violent crime.

I was saying 'humans are polygynous' because (a) that's what we expect looking at other mammals/primates, (b) humans given sufficient resources and power (Emperors, rock-stars, warlords etc.) are often polygynous without strong cultural shunning/pushback, and (c) it seems to me that most men, if asked 'would you like another girlfriend/wife if your current one was open to it' would say 'yes please'.