Unnatural or just horny?

People have always struggled with the idea of monogamy, mainly because people like to have options and are of course so easily tempted. Christopher Ryan, a human sexual scientist and author of a groundbreaking book, “Sex At Dawn”, says that monogamy is against human nature. 

From childhood some of us are taught that a man and a woman should get married and should be faithful to each other. But this of course reinforces many notions, such as the notion that only men and women should get married and having alternative lifestyles are by default incorrect and unacceptable. I really don't want to share my partner with anyone else, but of course this is the way I was raised.

But Christopher Ryan proposes that: “Marriage is essentially an economic institution and the nuclear family is an economic institution. This is not about making us happy or satisfying our natural appetites.” Then again, you don't have to be married in order to be expected to be monogamous. Many other societies and cultures are polygamous or understand the whole concept of marriage, love, even monogamy differently. I just wonder whether saying monogamy is an impossible state to achieve for humans, is not just an excuse for not being able to resist temptation and choice.

Some wiki info on polygamous societies around the world: 

Kenya

Polygamy is widespread in Kenya, the most prominent individual being Akuku Danger who married over 100 wives.

Nigeria

After a BBC television interview with Mohammed Bello Abubakar, articles were published in newspapers around the world about his 86 wives and 170 children, and he faced the death penalty under Sharia law if he did not divorce 84 of them.

South Africa

In South Africa, traditionalists commonly practice polygamy. The president, Jacob Zuma, has a total of twenty children with these and two previous wives. is also openly in favor of plural marriages, being married to three wives himself.

Sudan

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has encouraged multiple marriages to increase the population.

Asia

The Chinese culture of Confucianism and thus the practice of polygamy spread from China to Korea and areas that are now Vietnam. Before their modernizations, East Asian countries permitted similar practices of polygamy.

South Asia

Polygyny, permitted under Islamic law, is present amongst some Muslims in South Asia.

India

Polygamy is illegal in India for Hindus and other religious groups under the Hindu marriage Act. It remains legal for Muslims under the terms of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, as interpreted by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. 

Polygamy is generally quite rare in urban areas, and among the cosmopolitan middle classes.

Thailand

Until polygamy was outlawed by King Rama VI, it was expected that wealthy or upper-class Thai men were historically recognized to maintain mansions consisting of multiple wives and their children in the same residence. Among the royalty and courtiers in the past, wives were classified as principal, secondary, and slave. Today, the tradition of minor wives still remains, but the practice is different from that of the past. Due to the expense involved, minor wives are mostly limited to the wealthy men. While a "proper woman" (Kulasatrii; Thai: กุลสตรี) must remain faithful to her husband, there were no equivalent rules in history mandating fidelity in the "virtuous man."