Destructive Consequences of Unlimited Sexual Freedom

During the first state of the [Russian Communist] Revolution, its leaders deliberately attempted to destroy marriage and the family.  Free love was glorified by the official “glass of water” theory.  If a person is thirsty, so went the Party line, it is immaterial what glass he uses when satisfying his thirst; it is equally unimportant how he satisfies his sex hunger.

The legal distinction between marriage and casual sexual intercourse was abolished.  The Communist law spoke only of contracts between males and females for the satisfaction of their desires either for an indefinite or a definite period, a year, a month, a week, or even for a single night.  One could marry and divorce as many times as desired.  Husband or wife could obtain a divorce without the other being notified.  It was not even necessary that marriage be registered.  Bigamy and even polygamy were permissible under the new provisions…. Premarital relations were praised and extramarital relations were considered normal.

Within a few years, hordes of wild, homeless children became a menace to the Soviet Union.  Millions of lives, especially of young girls, were wrecked; divorces skyrocketed, as did abortions.  The hatreds and conflicts among polygamous and polyandrous mates rapidly mounted—and so did psychoneuroses.

The results were so appalling that the government was forced to reverse its policy.  The propaganda of the “glass of water” theory was declared to be counter-revolutionary, and its place was taken by official glorification of premarital chastity and of the sanctity of marriage….

Considering that the whole cycle occurred under a single regime, the experiment is highly informative.  It clearly shows the destructive consequences of unlimited sexual freedom.

Pitirim Sorokin, The American Sexual Revolution, pp.113-115. Cited by Robertson McQuilkin, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics, p.234