Western Fundamentalism: Democracy, Sex and the Liberation of Mankind by Gordon Menzies

Author:Gordon Menzies [Menzies, Gordon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

One might have the idea that the unthinkable was itself a moral category ... Entertaining certain alternatives, regarding them indeed as alternatives, is itself something that he [sic] regards as dishonourable or morally absurd.

Bernard Williams[162]

That is, for many people their normal mode of operation is to trust that their spouse will not inflict persistent emotional physical or sexual cruelty on them, and to screen off that possibility from their thinking. That being so, in a tightened up social view of marriage they would be able to experience and give unconditional love, in the sense that considering the conditions under which their marriage would be revoked is not a part of their normal psychological reality.[163]

Perhaps I can give an example of the kind of screening off I am talking about from another arena of life. In many countries, the chances of dying in a car crash has been falling for a number of years, but it is still a real possibility.

How do you cope with this undeniable fact when you drive?

Trust is such an important part of driving – when you head out on the road you have to assume everyone else will behave predictably and sensibly. If you don’t do this you will drive ridiculously slowly, twitching at the wheel whenever another car comes near you, and you will be a source of danger to yourself and others – simply through your lack of trust.

People cope with the reality of accidents by screening them off as part of their normal psychological reality. Of course there may be times when you think about them, like when you are paying an insurance premium or deciding on safety features, but part of being a good driver is ignoring a low probability event even when you are actually in danger.

In a similar way, it ought to be possible for society to have a more committed understanding of marriage plus less tolerance for abuse, without eroding feelings of unconditional love to the extent that they are now.

Promoting such a vision of marriage would be very controversial in the West today. But if it is really true that one must choose between relational security in marriage and a market mentality, which would you choose?

Some people don’t believe such a choice needs to be made, but for those who do, it is worth being clear what the West has, in fact, chosen. The fear of abandonment is thought to be less serious than the fear of living in an unhappy marriage. The latter is avoided at all costs, by freeing up exit requirements for marriage. This emphasis on voluntary trades, innovation and freedom is exactly what a market mentality prescribes.

I think this is a well-intentioned mistake. But when trading in the deregulated sexual market it’s important to be aware of the fine print. If neoliberalism has taught us anything in recent years, it’s that consumers are responsible for acknowledging and accepting all product limitations. In an empirical study designed to compare the effects of divorce on the

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