I probably should have use some more examples from the book, but pretty much all human societies before the institution of class society were not monagamous. The book makes the case convincingly that we should see their sexual behavior as more enlightened than the post-feudal modes, just as we view primitive communism as a more enlightened precursor to post-class society, where no one has ownership over the sexuality of someone else. Communal life incentivizes the non-ownership of another’s romantic and sexual life, just as feudalism and the nuclear family incentivizes ownership of the other person.

Monogamy was forced onto society by the feudal lords, who required strict female sexual subjugation in order to secure the property in the male lines. In contrast, tribal societies encouraged promiscuity and developed myths and religious beliefs to obfuscate male parentage and make sure every child was seen as the children of the entire tribe.