Truth #3: There still are powerful incentives today to get married.
People will usually act in their own self-interest. And ironically, for an institution that is based on prioritizing the other person, it is simply in most people’s self-interest to get married once they find that right partner! Pretty much every analysis that has ever been done has found that marriage, overall, promotes human thriving; married people have better health, are less likely to be depressed, and much more likely to be happy. Married people are more likely to be better off financially, live longer, and simply enjoy their relationship more.
So if you have any group of relatively rational non-married couples who are looking at real humans who are married versus those who are not married, most of those relatively rational people will conclude that this marriage gig is not such a bad idea.
Unfortunately, there are still far too many groups (such as those who are less-educated, or certain ethnic minorities) who view a lifelong, happy marriage as unattainable and thus hold themselves back from that all-important commitment. And because those issues are real, it is up to all of us to continue to push back against the discouraging “marriage is doomed” narrative when there are indeed real and encouraging truths about marriage that, in most cases, is such a key part of helping people thrive.
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