There are too many lonely people in the world men and women who’d be much happier if only they could fall in love. But Cupid alone can make that happen, right?

Wrong, say the 60 percent of people around the world who believe in arranged marriage. And wrong says one twice-divorced American dad who hopes to learn something from them.

His name is Robert Epstein, he’s the editor of Psychology Today, and in the June issue of his magazine he sets himself this goal: to find someone seemingly suitable no fireworks required and attempt to fall deeply in love with her within six months to a year.

He and the practical person he picks (feel free to write him at psychotoday@juno.com, gals), will sign a formal “love contract.” It stipulates that they’ll read about love, get some counseling and date no one else for the duration of the deal. They’ll also try to make it work. At the end, they’ll write a book about the experiment hopefully starting on their honeymoon.

The concept of willing oneself to love is so stunning to most Americans that already the morning talk shows are begging Epstein for bookings, and two TV networks are vying for the right to turn his quest into reality TV.

But really, says the editor, his goal is not that different from the goal of about 1 billion arranged marriages.

“To the rest of the world, ‘romantic marriages’ are nuts,” says the 48-year-old. “We start out with all this passion, which then fades away.” Often we’re left with a partner we’ve little in common with.

It’s hard to make the best of this when pop culture insists we should settle for nothing less than endless ecstasy the kind that usually lands in Julia Roberts’ lap.

But couples in more traditional societies, Epstein says, “Start out with practical reasons to be together. ‘Our families are friends. We’re in the same community. We have the same religion. We’re the right age for children. Economically, this seems to make sense.'”

Do these no-nonsense marriages work? Well, they work better than ours, says Epstein. In India, for instance, where about 95 percent of marriages are arranged, the divorce rate is 1 percent. Research shows that in at least half these marriages, true love blossoms and grows deeper with the passing years. Why?

“That’s what I want to find out!” Epstein cries.

I think I can tell him.

The problem is that in America we hold our happiness to a very high standard. Every breath mint and beer ad promises giggling, glorious, happily-ever-after love. Anything less is considered compromising, and any sputter is cause for the purchase of a self-help manual. Or divorce. In Western marriage, passion starts at the top and perches there precariously.

But in a marriage that begins with no presumption of love, only shared goals and values, feelings can either grow or not. The pressure is off, while the odds of a working partnership are high.

Epstein hopes his practical contract will find him the perfect life partner. In fact, he wishes he had come up with it two marriages ago.

But he also hopes it will open other lonely souls to the idea of building love based on compatibility rather than waiting and waiting for passion to strike.

A contract like that could put Cupid out of business. But for a romantic like me who’d love to see everyone happily hitched, that sounds great.

Lenore Skenazy is a columnist for the New York Daily News. Her e-mail address is lskenazy@edit.nydailynews.com.