Think about it like this: Both sickle-cell anaemia & malaria are bad when considered separately, but they’re also in a frequency-dependent equilibrium because the allele (HbS) that causes anaemia for a minority also confers resistance against malaria for the majority. Thus, a “second-best theory” would be to say that the HbS allele is good because it improves the situation relative to nobody having resistance against malaria at all. While it’s true, it’s also myopic.
When we cure malaria, there will no longer be any selection-pressure for HbS, so we cure sickle-cell disease as well.
To unpack the metaphor: I think many traditional & strict norms (HbS) around sex & relationships can be net good on the margin, but only because they enforce rigid rules in an area where humans haven’t learned to deal with the complexities (malaria) in a healthy manner. “Sexual liberalism” encompasses imo an attempt to deal with them directly and eventually learn better norms that are more likely to work long-term.
Think about it like this: Both sickle-cell anaemia & malaria are bad when considered separately, but they’re also in a frequency-dependent equilibrium because the allele (HbS) that causes anaemia for a minority also confers resistance against malaria for the majority. Thus, a “second-best theory” would be to say that the HbS allele is good because it improves the situation relative to nobody having resistance against malaria at all. While it’s true, it’s also myopic.
When we cure malaria, there will no longer be any selection-pressure for HbS, so we cure sickle-cell disease as well.
To unpack the metaphor: I think many traditional & strict norms (HbS) around sex & relationships can be net good on the margin, but only because they enforce rigid rules in an area where humans haven’t learned to deal with the complexities (malaria) in a healthy manner. “Sexual liberalism” encompasses imo an attempt to deal with them directly and eventually learn better norms that are more likely to work long-term.