The piece quoted below by Mark Steyn set me wondering - why the taboo against polygamy in the West? It sounds like its an issue that is looming on the event horizon.

As a liberal, I generally feel people should be at liberty to develop their own spiritual lives without interference by authority. And it's hard to construct a good theoretical argument against polygamy. So I'd like to know more about the circumstances that lead Christian and Ashkenazi jewish religious authorities to weigh against the practice.

Ousmane Sembene's film Xala explores polygamy in an African context and draws a picture of the deprivations and jealousies that polygamy can foster. Yet one wonders whether this is an inevitable consequence of polygamy, or follows from insensitivity on the part of the people involved. There must be some historical writings describing the social experiences that lead to the prohibition among religious communities in the West. More on this after a bit of research...
Mark Steyn - Ave atque vale

But last summer Le Monde leaked a government report revealing that polygamy was routinely practiced in Muslim ghettoes in France. An informal survey of the Islamic communities of Ontario found much the same. In Britain, the Inland Revenue is considering recognizing polygamy for the purposes of inheritance law, so that a Muslim husband’s estate can be divided tax-free between several wives. And if it’s a Muslim who finally makes it to an American state Supreme Court with a polygamy case, bet on the traditional deference to “multiculturalism”.