In his new book, Going Solo, New York University sociologist Eric Klinenberg argues that we"re poised to become a nation dominated by single people. Just 51 percent of American adults are married, according to recent census data, and more than a quarter of all U. S. households consist of only one person. Yet singles often don"t get a lot of love—and we"re not talking about their romantic lives.Activists say that unmarried people are systematically discriminated against. "Singleism—stereotyping, stigmatizing, and discrimination against people who are single—is largely unrecognized and unchallenged," says activist Bella DePaulo, the author of Singled Out.DePaulo says: "People don"t notice singleism, and if their attention is called to it, they think there"s nothing wrong." That"s why, for instance, car and health insurance companies get away with charging less for couples and families. "They can attract more business that way," DePaulo notes. In the process, they leave single people to essentially subsidize the benefit by paying more. "When married workers can add spouses to a health-care plan at a discount and single workers can"t add someone important to them, that"s discrimination," says DePaulo.The U. S. government not only turns a blind eye to the problem of "singleism," but helps enforce it, activists say. Just look at Social Security. "A childless singleton can work side by side with a childless married person, doing the same job, for the same number of years, at the same level of accomplishment—and when the married person dies, that worker can leave his or her Social Security benefits to a spouse," says DePaulo. "The single person"s benefits go back into the system."That"s especially true given how much they contribute to society—more, activists argue, than married couples with families. "On average, singles have more disposable income," Klinenberg says. "They"re fueling urban economies that would be in much worse shape without them. And compared to married people, they"re more likely to spend time with neighbors, to participate in public events, and to volunteer."Singles may also be contributing more at the office, without being compensated for it, activists say. "Studies have shown that singles are often paid less than married people, even if they share the same title, responsibilities, and years of experience," says Langburt. "And if you agree that time equals dollars, then it doesn"t stop there: there"s maternity leave, all the time off leading up to the pregnancy for doctors" visits, and sick days."Historically, governments have passed laws encouraging marriage and families in the hopes that doing so would decrease the likelihood that the state would need to care for abandoned children. But policies that benefit the married shouldn"t be substitutes for more universal social programs, says marriage historian Stephanie Coontz, the director of research and public education for the Council on Contemporary Families. "The penalties for being single in this country are worse than in Europe, where individuals have guaranteed access to health care, and they have options beyond a spouse"s death benefits for staying above the poverty line as they age."
A．have abandoned the preferential policies for the manned peopleB．have seen to that the single people can pass their social security to people important to them after they dieC．have done a good job in enhancing the universal welfare for the whole societyD．have prohibited all forms of implicit or explicit prejudice against the single by strict order
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