Dougthebear, are you saying that the reason why polygamy may work in our society is because women have lower sex drives than men, and thus men should have more than one wife to have sex with?
(yes, you manage to slip in the idea that it would be the women's fault if the men look for other wives!)

Will more frequent sex with multiple wives be enough to negate the myriad other problems that would come from having multiple wives?

You obviously think very little of men or their abilities to be monogamous!

Well said Suze. Doug's assumption is that men who are still having sex with their wives never have affairs or go to prostitutes? What about men who lose their sex drive?

Wouldn't it be better for the couples in question to work out why this part of the marriage has waned?

If polygamy is decriminalised we may as well throw out all the equal opportunity laws and anti-discrimination laws as well given that most of the posts are concentrating on what men want rather than what is better for the whole.

The only benefit polygamy had was in societies like the hard core Morman sects where a single women had no way of supporting herself under the law, and it was duty of men to ensure no women was left destitute.

I think we are a long way from this eventuality.

"The only benefit polygamy had was in societies like the hard core Morman sects where a single women had no way of supporting herself under the law, and it was duty of men to ensure no women was left destitute."
Actually polygamy has its strongest support in those societies where the numbers of fertile women greatly exceed the number of fertile males available for breeding. These societies are typically warlike in nature or are continually engaged in defending their very existence hence the need for a reservoir of single, fighting males. The Mormons faced a constant battle for survival against an intolerant majority;hence the need to build up their numbers.

I never actually said that it could, would or should work: if anyone can find where I said this or implied it please show me. I did say that some couples may make this choice: I didn't say it was a good choice.

Anyway, given that marriage in our society is in a state of decay - marriage no longer being marriage since 1975 when the marriage 'contract' was thrown out in favour of another model - and defacto relationships are widely accepted 'polygamy' doesn't have to be decriminalised: it can just be: so long as the people involved don't go through a marriage ceremony then they can form whatever model of relationship they want. I have already mentioned Richard Pratt and Jack Thompson's 'polygamy'. I am sure that there is more out there, just thge same way that for years two women living together in a same sex partnership pretended to be sisters, there are probably a number of couples with an extra person 'sgaring the house' who are doing more than eating breakfast together.

I am aware of some cases of women going out of their way to having children and living in intermitent domestic relationships with more than one partner.

check out
http://australiandivorce.blogspot.com/2008/08/federal-magistrates-court-adverse.html

and the judgement at

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FMCAfam/2008/784.html

see paras 98 to 105.

I have not been able to find any scholarly reserach into the sex drive differences between men and women (but please also note my statement that no-one ever died from a lack of sex) but Miranda Devine did a nice precis of Arndt's 'Sex Diaries' at

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/wifely-duties-spark-a-firestorm-20090401-9jpj.html

Glorfindel <Many Western Societies are committing demographic suicide; Without children society is doomed and ultimately as they age unloved and uncared for>

I agree, and have written articles asking who is going to be manning the stations without children.
They are also much more vunerable to attack by younger fitter armies or terrorists.

Nevertheless we are becoming a childless society, even because of the fact that a lot of people who do have children don’t have the 6 to 10children that they had a century ago. When I advocated private contracts between couples I was thinking in response to the fact that the government has just enshrined in law that any of the husbands or defactos other women on the side, can come in now and claim financial support, they don’t even have to live with them to do this. Does this also apply to boyfriends of the wife too.

It seems to me that this is a deal breaker when it comes to marriage and that women may decide it is not worth it. I was just exploring alternatives.

Challenging topic.

There is an interesting example in the US: there are 50,000 cases of bigamy/ polygamy in one state alone (South Dakota).
The question it raises is: what is the reference point for a legislator? The pure secular argument would say that consenting adults should do as they please similar to same sex marriages. But then who takes the burden of implications to society. On the other hand if the reference becomes people's belief system, its open for all sorts of interpretations.