Economist Writing Every Day

The flurry of posts about polyamory

i.e.

The thing that is perhaps most ridiculous is how little time these people are apparently spending with their kids, and how little priority is placed on things like family dinner. The young-kid years are short and people already do so much daycare. https://t.co/nqhShAKb6k

— Liz Wolfe (@LizWolfeReason) March 20, 2026

leads me back to what I wrote about in the middle of Anna Karenina: lots of adults are not happy, even if they have achieved some level of economic security and have some status markers to cling to. I don’t have time to offer any analysis or opinions or advice. I’m going to put out some accounts cataloging the phenomenon. Reject AI-written engagement slop about personal problems (which has exploded online). Stick to stories written by humans, for this topic (written before 2022 unless they are verified sources).

You don’t get a lot of windows into the implosion of an adult life, because no one wants to expose failure to public inspection. This typically happens in two ways: the story is forced out, or a comedian tells all for money. Non-comedian Brandon Hatmaker’s ex-wife published a book on the end of their marriage amidst 5 children. Thus, he felt like he wanted to tell his side of the story here: We are all bigger than our lowest moment. “I went to counseling (alone) for three years prior to …” etc.

Comedian Louis CK makes money airing his secrets. “Half Dead” is a bit from Louis C.K.’s 2008 stand-up show “Chewed Up”. This sketch is about how 40-year-old men feel unappreciated. You can watch it in the first minute of this YouTube video (I couldn’t find a better link): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnjnCWhJ0w   “No one spends holidays delivering hot meals to 40-year-olds…”

One of his most famous lines is about enjoying when children are briefly separated from him by a vehicle.

Parent live for the tiny vacations from their kids, like when you put your kids in the car and you close their door and that little walk around to your own door. It’s like a Carnival cruise, it’s just the greatest.

A person among the most privileged to ever walk the planet presents his life as a thankless slog. (And he is self-aware and thankful for new technology.)

We at EWED catalogue how almost everyone is materially better off than ever. I’d like to put some of my time into understanding how and when that translates to happiness. I am also thinking of the 20-year-old sobbing in my office this week explaining why she missed a lecture to go home and help with her siblings because “my parents are divorced.”

Enough of these anecdotes. The IFS recently reported that divorce rates are down. We no longer expect that fully half of marriages in the US will end in divorce. And Jeremy points out that, by rich world standards, Americans are still having kids.

Yesterday, Tyler pointed us to a post indicating that Canada is dropping in the happiness rankings: https://x.com/danielfoch/status/2034781165098577982

Could that be related to Canada’s slow economic growth and brain drain to the US?