"'men are expected to produce' more than they consume. "

A reader sent me an interesting New York Times article on single men becoming disenchanted with homeownership. I can understand that, homes are a pain and seem to be a never ending source of expense. As I read the article, this comment by psychologist Roy Baumeister got me pondering on what kind of deal men are getting these days:

Men have no monopoly on domestic discontent. There are also women who wish they had signed their mortgage with disappearing ink. But for men, rejecting homeownership may involve broader questions of manhood, said Dr. Roy Baumeister, a psychology professor at Florida State University.

�There are a lot of extra stresses that men have,� he said, a claim he advances in a book to be published in the summer, �Is There Anything Good About Men?� (Short answer: probably.)

In almost every culture, Dr. Baumeister said, �men are expected to produce� more than they consume. In a similar fashion, men naturally compete for status. Buying a home, he said, is often tied up with those pressures.

Maybe like giving up on home ownership, it's time for men to give up on being the producers in society and let others fend for themselves. It seems that's what many of the younger guys in the next generation are doing. What do you think, should men continue to produce for a society that devalues them and their work? Or, should they produce for themselves and let others pick up the slack?