Love

So where does love fit into all of this? First consider there are different kinds of love. These different kinds of love add up to a very complicated thing that we call 'Love.' We need to break Big L love back down. This does not discount love. In fact, it may even be an entire other economy that operates at a strange intersection of the biological, societal, and intellectual. We should look at the different kinds of love and see what economies are at work.

Romantic Love

Romantic love has its roots in the biological. There is a direct line from our bodies building up feelings of romantic love and our genes being passed on.

Familial Love

Familial love sits at an interesting intersection between the biological and the societal. Biologically we are drawn to love and care for our relations because they share some quantity of our genes. But the family is also a societal structure that helps control and smooth out access to resources.

Trusting Love - Friendship

Trusting love, aka, friendship is an intellectual love. It is, in a sense, trust, and it is why when trust is broken we feel so broken hearted. This kind of love bleeds down and crosses over into our romantic and familial love as well. This complicates what love is even more.

Ultimately, I think love is not its own economy, but I also don't think this cheapens love at all. It is a complicated and remarkably antifragile system that we should take joy in and celebrate. Love is real and derives from all kinds of quality at all different levels.