Why marriage is good for men
June 5, 2024
Is marriage a bad deal for men? Some loud voices on both the political Left and Right suggest it is. Reactionary online influencers like Andrew Tate tell us: “The problem is, there is zero advantage to marriage in the Western world for a man,” adding, “there is zero statistical advantage.” He warns young men today, “If you use your mind, if you use your head instead of your heart, and you look at the advantages of getting married, there are absolutely none.” Tate’s anti-nuptial view is based in part on his belief that most marriages end in divorce for men—for which men pay a big price financially and emotionally. Based on my conversations with teenage boys and young men across America, I can report that his views on this issue have found a receptive audience.
Meanwhile, over on the left, intellectuals like Matt Bruenig, the president of the People’s Policy Project, offer a different but equally dismissive take on marriage. Although they acknowledge that married men are more likely to be flourishing financially, they argue that marriage per se has no value for men. The apparent value of marriage can be almost entirely attributed to what social scientists call “selection effects.” That is, certain types of men are more likely to succeed in life, which increases their marriageability, but the institution itself does not make an independent contribution to men’s financial well-being. In Bruenig’s words: “With marriage, you have an institution that attracts and retains more economically secure and stable people, not an institution that creates them.” In his view, marriage rewards successful men, but does not increase the odds that ordinary men succeed.
