In Praise of Open Relationships

For most people today, romantic love is tantamount to monogamy. However, the ideal of "one true love" which lasts forever has long given way to the sobering reality of serial monogamy. The simple fact that a life may comprise more than one love poses a challenge to our established conception of fidelity. Why must one love end when another one begins? In this book, the meaning of love and sexuality is reassessed. The author points out that emotion and reason, commitment and freedom do not have to be at odds. Monogamy as a relationship model is shown to rest on questionable pre-conceptions. Its impositions prove objectionable not only from a hedonistic, but also from an ethical point of view. Alternative models like "Don't ask, don't tell" agreements, swinging and polyamory are reviewed.

Oliver Schott studied Philosophy, Cultural Studies and Politology at Humboldt University, Berlin, and is currently working on his dissertational thesis "On the methodology of practical thinking". He is also working as a corrector and author for the German weekly newspaper Jungle World. Unconvinced by the case for monogamy from the start, a life-long practice of open relationships has con-firmed his ideas about ethical relationship anarchy.