There’s an easier way.Ĭhristian and Ana’s many pages of complexity can be reduced to a simple smart contract. Christian Grey needs to protect himself from legal recourse if Ana decides to sue him for excessive shenanigans.Īs a result, they arrive at an overly complex agreement detailing every possible activity or instrument that could possibly be employed. If I understand correctly, the entire movie is about the process of contract negotiation. Like, always keep a few thermonuclear warheads up your sleeve. The key to a successful marriage is to ensure a sufficiently high cost of termination for both parties.

If the cost of terminating the marriage is less than the opportunity cost of remaining in the contract, it is inevitable that the contract will be breached. Or, worse, when one party’s income substantially increases. Discord arises when one party decays more rapidly than the other. Conjugal bliss can exist when both parties follow similar rates of decay, but this symmetry is rare. This is why marriage contracts were invented. What will compel you to stick around after she doubles in size and succumbs to the effects of gravity? And what happens after you become a balding couch ornament with the gut of a ruminant? Sure, things are going great right now, but it is a cruel fact of nature that most humans do not age well. Much like a consumer loan agreement, marriage is an institution founded on mistrust. As long as the cost of defaulting on the contract (loss of home equity) is greater than the opportunity cost of mortgage payments, repayment can be coerced. While you may be a trustworthy individual at time of loan application, it’s future-you that can’t be trusted. How motivated are you to continue paying that mortgage? The housing market has collapsed, your dog needs kidney dialysis, and to top it all off, a robot just took your job. It’s a large mortgage, but your salary is five times the monthly payment so you should pay it off no problem.įast-forward half a decade. The loan is approved thanks to your impeccable credit score and 10% down.

Suppose you apply for a mortgage with the best of intentions. To better understand this, let’s start with a simpler contract. Or even the institution of marriage! Unless one party poses a significant flight risk, why would willing participants need a legal contract to compel each other to stay? Why do they need a contract? Don’t they trust each other? And if they don’t trust each other, why don’t they walk away? Two adults are about to engage in sexual relations.

50 shades of grey contract