Stephanie Coontz, a leading historian on marriage, argues in her new book For Better and Worse: The Complicated Past and Challenging Future of Marriage that many societies have revived a harmful nostalgia for the 1950s as if they represented an idealized model of marital life.
Coontz writes that pre-agricultural bands had remarkably egalitarian marriage practices. Women were free to leave husbands, and children born outside of marriage had full claims on community resources—unlike later stratified societies where such practices were suppressed. She explains that the advent of agriculture led to property accumulation, which created inequality and the rise of patriarchal marriage systems. In these systems, men monitored women’s sexual behavior to safeguard patrilineal inheritance.
Coontz also contends that post-World War II economic prosperity was driven by government policies including higher taxes on the wealthy and stricter financial regulations—contrary to the narrative of free markets. The book further argues that Christianity contributed to oppressive marriage norms, though Coontz notes Jesus emphasized communal responsibility over narrow family boundaries.
Coontz suggests that a return to Stone Age marriage practices would provide women with greater freedom than modern systems.