I find it peculiar that a position like “sometimes it’s okay to be monogamous” is regarded as conservative in academic circles. To me, it has always seemed like a sign of moral progress that, at least in many societies, we’ve adopted a more laissez-faire attitude, no longer framing preferences about love or intimacy in terms of strict moral duties (permissible versus impermissible), but at most in terms of what might be morally less ideal or morally preferable—the strongest kinds of claims I’d still feel comfortable making.