Neo-Classical Economics

I have been gathering with older folk in warm kitchens and living rooms, listening to their stories of the world. They talk about their contemporaries. These are people who have achieved many things, most notably security and family. They live lives of contentment; they travel the world and eat well; they worry about their kids, such that they wish the same future for them. Of course, some of their friends are sick or have died. Others have divorced, or have troubled children. No one lives without touching tragedy, even if it is not their own.

Last night a story was told of a 35-year-old woman, pretty and vivacious, but without a husband. She is called Sarah. Sarah wants to be married and to have a family. In recent years she has had a series of unfortunate boyfriends. They sound like the kind of losers you would expect a pretty, vivacious woman to ignore. However, Sarah is apparently desperate to resolve her spinsterhood and begin her adult life. She is discounting husband quality against the generic benefits of partnership. This seemed rational to the older folk. It broke my heart. This woman was to have no passion in her life. She was happy not to fall in love and never to be overwhelmed by the fact of someone. Sarah might be the most sensible 35-year-old woman alive.