Okay, I'll fan the flames here. One big reason men want to stay single is the legally enforceable, punitive aspects of the state-recognized, state-enforced marriage contract.
A government-legal marriage introduces a third party - the government/lawyer system - into the mix.
The marriage/divorce legal system has been described as a matriarchy -- the man, once legally married in the eyes of the state, is suddenly bound and obligated to serve the female. He must keep her happy, for she holds in her hand the power -- backed by the resources of government and law enforcement -- to, at a whim, deprive him of house, children, possessions and income for the current time and for decades to come. Therefore he must capitulate and cower, lest she bring to bear the power and weight of the government legal system against him.
This stands the traditional male/female relationship on its head. The man hates the servitude, the woman (wanting a warrior who will defend the tent and keep her safe while she is inside helpless downloading babies) despise the suddenly (after legally marrying) weak male.
So men flee and avoid the marriage contract. Women reject men who enter the contract and suddenly become servile, fearful and milquetoasty.
The winner in all this? The government of course. It grows geometrically.
Over the years a tiny bit of "balance" has been introduced into the marriage/divorce law system, but it still largely favors the female and punishes/deprives the male.
For more, see The Predatory Female, a tongue-in-cheek look at this.
Incidentally, noble men still legally marry in spite of all this. Noble women who legally marry reject the government/legal power at their disposal and submit to their men, so that the men need not fear them and can remain men. Still, even in that agreement, the man's manliness is based on the grant given him by the female, so she still has the power. I guess the noble man just has to take his chances and go with it. ;o)
Well, KillerWabbit, I checked out the summary for the book. A portion of the summary is above. Another reason for the hooker versus many wives is that at least the hooker gets medical checkups, and that makes the hooker far safer than many of the "wives" of today. Adultery has become really rampant in our society.
Look at it this way. Many woman are used to going from guy to guy for sex almost from puberty. They are used to no-commitments and casual relationships. Certainly, the guy meets the woman of his dreams. He sees stars, the birds sing for the first time, the poor guy is totally screwed up. He cannot think of anything but the woman. He wants to make her his very own. The only problem is, the woman of his dreams belongs to every dude in town, but he cannot see that. Then he marries this paragon of virtue, and things are ok for maybe a few months or even a few years. Then the world's most perfect woman gets that roaming look in her eyes. She finds another lover, or maybe lovers.
The poor sucker husband finds out that his perfect woman has been screwing every dude in town again. He files for divorce. The judge awards everything to the woman. The guy has to support her and any kids they may have for the duration of someone's life. The guy is bankrupt, but he has to continue coming up with those payments.
Where has romance and marriage gone? Remember a song about, Where have all the flowers gone? If the husband is the thinking type, he takes the next train out of town and never looks back. All of this takes its toll on society of course, but it also plays hell with commitment, marriage, and romance.
A big, heartfelt, personally lived, BTTT