Historians and social scientists widely agree that a significant surplus of unmarried, low-status young males can cause substantial social and political unrest, a pattern observed in ancient societies and documented throughout history.
The core issue stems from an imbalance in the "marriage market" (often referred to as a "marriage squeeze"), where these "surplus men" have little or no prospect of finding a spouse, establishing a family, or gaining a respected place in society. This lack of integration often leads to frustration and alienation, making these individuals more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior, crime, and violence.
Societies have historically dealt with this "bachelor problem" in several ways, and the failure to do so often resulted in conflict:
• Formation of "Bare Branches": In Imperial China, unmarried men were termed guang gun-er ("bare branches" or "bare sticks"). The Ming Code specifically labeled these marginalized individuals as a potential source of illegal activities and unrest. The Nien Rebellion in the mid-19th century has been linked by some scholars to the presence of large numbers of these disaffected, mobile, and unmarried men.
• Redirected Aggression (War and Exploration): Many land-owning societies historically managed excess male populations by sending them away to fight in wars, join the priesthood, or colonize new territories. Examples often cited include:
• Viking raids: Speculated to be partly driven by a system where not all men could inherit land and marry.
• Mongol warbands: United by leaders like Genghis Khan, potentially channeling the energy of unmarried young men into conquest.
• Janissaries: The Ottoman Empire created a military class of forced Christian converts who were kept as unmarried, loyal soldiers, effectively absorbing a potentially destabilizing group.
• Polygyny and Social Inequality: In some polygynous societies, a small number of elite men monopolized most women, leaving many lower-status men without spouses. This extreme inequality has been associated with higher rates of violent crime and internal conflict, as the frustrated, unattached men had little stake in maintaining the existing social order.
• Modern Analogy: In modern times, the pattern repeats in fragile states or cities where extremist groups and gangs heavily recruit from large pools of frustrated young men who lack family ties, jobs, or a clear future.
The existence of a large group of unattached men with little to lose is a recognized warning sign for social instability, leading to domestic and international violence.
Historians and social scientists widely agree that a significant surplus of unmarried, low-status young males can cause substantial social and political unrest, a pattern observed in ancient societies and documented throughout history.
The core issue stems from an imbalance in the "marriage market" (often referred to as a "marriage squeeze"), where these "surplus men" have little or no prospect of finding a spouse, establishing a family, or gaining a respected place in society. This lack of integration often leads to frustration and alienation, making these individuals more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior, crime, and violence.
Societies have historically dealt with this "bachelor problem" in several ways, and the failure to do so often resulted in conflict:
• Formation of "Bare Branches": In Imperial China, unmarried men were termed guang gun-er ("bare branches" or "bare sticks"). The Ming Code specifically labeled these marginalized individuals as a potential source of illegal activities and unrest. The Nien Rebellion in the mid-19th century has been linked by some scholars to the presence of large numbers of these disaffected, mobile, and unmarried men.
• Redirected Aggression (War and Exploration): Many land-owning societies historically managed excess male populations by sending them away to fight in wars, join the priesthood, or colonize new territories. Examples often cited include:
• Polygyny and Social Inequality: In some polygynous societies, a small number of elite men monopolized most women, leaving many lower-status men without spouses. This extreme inequality has been associated with higher rates of violent crime and internal conflict, as the frustrated, unattached men had little stake in maintaining the existing social order.• Modern Analogy: In modern times, the pattern repeats in fragile states or cities where extremist groups and gangs heavily recruit from large pools of frustrated young men who lack family ties, jobs, or a clear future.
The existence of a large group of unattached men with little to lose is a recognized warning sign for social instability, leading to domestic and international violence.
• https://rhyd.substack.com/p/the-surplus-male-problem
• https://kar.kent.ac.uk/11430/1/surplus_men_IS_article.pdf
• https://magazine.byu.edu/article/the-dangers-of-losing-balan...