Social Action

---

The selfish society begins to crack

17 Dec 2004

How will we cope with an ageing society if our common ideal has been individual self-fulfillment? The Social Action research service reports.




---

Cohabitation: marriage-lite is a vastly inferior choice

3 Dec 2004

Why do couples live together (cohabitation), instead of marrying? There seems to be a variety of reasons. For some, it is a rebellious choice against rules and traditional family forms, a statement in favour of freedom and independence. For others, seeing the ruins of other marriages, perhaps including those of their parents, there is an element of resignation: long term commitments seem to be just too difficult. But for many, now that the taboos against cohabitation have been lifted, living together is just something that you drift into. It seems the best choice available at the time, although the couple may concede it is far from ideal.






---

The health of American marriages

19 Nov 2004

If you take your evidence from television shows, then young men are not interested in marriage. But a US national survey of young men aged 25-34 shows that most men are "the marrying kind", although men are delaying marriage until older ages. Those from traditional, religiously observant family backgrounds are more likely to be married, or to seek marriage and to have positive views of marriage, women and children than young males who come from non traditional and non religious family backgrounds. However, around twenty per cent of young men are personally averse to marriage.