Elizabeth Brake and Simon May

Elizabeth Brake (left) and Simon May (right) on marriage.

As same-sex marriage gains acceptance, a greater number of caring relationships enjoy legal recognition. But what about polygamous and polyamorous relationships? What about non-romantic relationships, such as friendships? In this episode, Brake and May discuss Brake’s controversial view that individuals should be allowed to assign the rights and privileges of marriage to whomever they want, so long as the purpose is to support a caring relationship. They also discuss the case for same-sex marriage (4:30), whether legal marriage should be abolished (33:48), caring relationships as Rawlsian primary goods (45:40), and May’s objection to polygamy (54:49).

Read an excerpt from Brake’s forthcoming book, Minimizing Marriage: Morality, Marriage, and the Law .

Announcement: Jeremy Garrett, Elizabeth Brake, Martha Fineman, and Simon May will participate in a group session entitled “After Marriage” at the Eastern APA meeting, Group Session XIII, Fri., Dec. 30, 1:30pm.

Related works

by Brake:

Minimizing Marriage: Morality, Marriage, and the Law (forthcoming)

“Minimal Marriage: What Political Liberalism Implies for Marriage Law” (2010)

by May:

“Liberal Feminism and the Ethics of Polygamy” (forthcoming)

“Religious Democracy and the Liberal Principle of Legitimacy” (2009)

See also:

PEA Soup: Discussion of “Minimal Marriage,” with commentary by Cheshire Calhoun

[display_podcast]