Professor for Sociology and
Director of the National Marriage Project
University of Virginia
United States of America
Our culture is increasingly sending us the message that money, work, and freedom from family are the recipe for a prosperous and happy life today. I call this the “Midas Mindset.” Many left-leaning mainstream organs of opinion make this argument with women in mind.
Meanwhile, on the right, prominent online influencers like Pearl Davis and Andrew Tate are also pushing the Midas Mindset—but with a focus on men. They argue marriage is a bad deal for guys.
Messaging like this helps explains why today more Americans think education, work and money are more “important” for fulfillment than marriage and why the marriage rate has fallen 60% in the last fifty years.