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MARRIAGE idealises permanence, and yet it is changing more rapidly than at any time in its history. Almost everywhere it is becoming freer, more equal and more satisfying. As our special report this week explains, wedlock has become so good that it is causing trouble.
最良性的改变发生在穷国和中等收入国家（世界大多数人口生活于此）。曾经盛行的童婚习俗正在消退。可能导致遗传缺陷的近亲联姻也在减少，不过这在中东和亚洲部分地区仍然相当普遍。夫妻关系已经变得更平等（尽管还不够平等）。随着女性收入的提高和离婚恶名的消减，越来越多男性发现自己不能把妻子当佣人（或者更糟糕地，拿她们做出气筒），因为女性可以放言走人，而且说到做到。
The most benign changes are taking place in poor and middle-income countries (where most people live). Child marriage, once rife, is ebbing. So is cousin marriage, with its attendant risk of genetic defects, though it is still fairly common in the Middle East and parts of Asia. Relations between husbands and wives have become more equal (though not equal enough). As women earn more and the stigma of divorce fades, more men are finding that they cannot treat their wives as servants (or, worse, punchbags), because women can credibly threaten to walk away.
在某些地区，变化之快令人吃惊。在印度，18岁之前结婚的女性比例仅十年间就从47%下降到27%。“自由恋爱结婚”在印度依然是有损名声之举，父母包办婚姻仍是主流。但和许多传统社会一样，年轻人已经有了更大的自主权。一些人可以否决家人提议的婚配对象，也有的人自己选择对象，但父母保留否决权。在世界各地，流行文化正在提高人们对美好婚姻的期望值，而婚恋交友网站极大地增加了单身人士的选择。
In some regions change has been astoundingly quick. In India the share of women marrying by the age of 18 has dropped from 47% to 27% in a single decade. “Love marriages” remain disreputable in India, and arranged marriages the norm. But, as in many traditional societies, young people have more say. Some can veto the mates their families suggest; others choose their own, subject to a parental veto. Across the world, popular culture is raising expectations of what a good marriage is like, and dating websites are giving singletons vastly more options.
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商论十二月刊文章《更完美的结合》（A more perfect union
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