ABSTRACT
There are three basic forms of love: political love, romantic love, and mature love. Political and romantic love are part of the ideology of love, marriage, family, and sex that has expressed, justified, and reinforced patriarchy from ancient times to the present. Political love in its most advanced form is practiced by political elites, usually men, and links sex, ruling power, and truth. Romantic love involves idealizing love, loved ones, and physical passion, and is a resource for oppressing and exploiting men, women, and children, but especially women. Mature love is based on equality and caring; it is independent of the sanctions of church and state, and transcends conventions about the sex, age, and number of lovers. My first objective in this chapter is to identify some of the major sources and expressions of political and romantic love; they are part of our patriarchal tradition, and continue to play a crucial role in modern lives. My second objective is to explore mature love in a way that links self-actualization, loving relationships, and the Good Society in the context of an evolutionary perspective.
