The Economics of Infidelity

So I got to reading the best book ever: 


More Sex is Safer Sex by Steven E. Landsburg is a book that likens economic concepts and challenges with, well, promiscuity. What's that you say? Sex and money in one book? I'm for it!! *wink*


But anyway. I'm going to talk about sex. And economics. But mostly sex. 


Right.


So...when I started reading the book, Landsburg had me cracking up. He's really a rather dry and witty fellow. In it, he points out, "Whether you're...having sex, saving or spending...your actions have costs and benefits. As long as you feel all the costs and benefits, you'll tend to get the quantity right. You'll...have the right number of children, or choose the right number of sex partners. But if you feel only the benefits while someone else feels the costs, you'll tend to overindulge."


And there you have it. It's so true! Look at all of the celebrities nowadays that have been put under the microscope because they decided to 'overindulge'. Tiger Woods. Jesse James. Tiki Barber. And that's only within the past six months. Infidelity is always a topic of controversy - and, by default, entertainment. There is supply and demand in the promotion and publication of cheating!! I mean, people have been cheating since men and women figured out where to put it! I was on my Facebook page, chatting about it with my friend, and I felt compelled to point out:

"There are two distinct issues: 1. The media's need to supply controversy...and the capitalistic blood in the large masses' need to demand drama and gossip...supply and demand, kiddo...anyone who says that they're not about capitalism LIED! Think about it: the media's not going to sell anything that no one's asking for...how many people do YOU know who say that they hate the negativity of the media, but are like crack fiends to their boob tube (geesh I'm old!) when any coon...I, I mean, VH1 reality TV show comes on?

2. People think it's such a recent surge in infidelity...it's not...not by a long shot. We just have the means now to talk about it en masse...pick someone famous...in fact, pick 10 famous people and I'll bet you that 9 of them have chased a piece of tail at least once that wasn't theirs....why? Because they could! Tiger, Jesse, (our) Jesse, Tiki, Bill (Cosby), they all just managed to get caught......"

There you have it. The economics of infidelity. So now I ask - are we just doomed to continue to repeat the same cycles over and over? I mean, we realize now that there are many reasons that people cheat, but the main reason is that they can. Simple. After that, of course, is the reason that people, in general, are afraid to do things that may not be easy and don't have an immediate benefit. It's like I said about grinding: people will grind for their jobs because there is money, prestige, and immediate rewards involved. So why not work towards something concrete, instead of sticking allyuh parts inna everybody tail? What are we so afraid of?


Discuss.

Posted in: cheating, infidelity, love, monogamy, relationships, romance