Privatized Marriage

Reason explores the possibility of privatized marriage.

Like any well-trained Pavlovian libertarian, I start salivating at the mention of the word 'privatize'. But I don't see how we can privatize marriage anymore than we can privatize the courts or the police. As a libertarian, I believe that government has three legitimate purposes: protect against crime, protect against invasion, and enforcing contracts. Free enterprise and free individuals can perform the rest of the functions now occupied by government, and better, too. Marriage, however, is a contract, in the form of vows, enforced by a government. If you commit adultery or abandon your spouse, it is government which will step in and compel you to follow the contract that you have agreed to -- or, more commonly, punish you for breaching that contract by permitting a divorce on terms favorable to the wronged party.

These are functions that a church cannot resolve. If a couple divorces, how can a church divide up the assets or establish custody of minor children from the marriage, except by establishing armed enforcers to carry out the will of a church court? Does anyone want to see that?

Practically speaking, privatized marriage is a cool idea, but unimplementable. Like any other contract, marriage must be enforced by the state.

Hat tip: Joe Carter.