A History of Violence

Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology, tells us:

What may be the most important thing that has ever happened in human history is that violence has gone down, by dramatic degrees, and in many dimensions all over the world and in many spheres of behavior: genocide, war, human sacrifice, torture, slavery, and the treatment of racial minorities, women, children, and animals.

Pinker's video presentation is almost an hour and a half. The text of the presentation is available and, of course, takes a lot less time to get through. Pinker begins by stating:

Believe it or not—and I know most people do not—violence has been in decline over long stretches of time, and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence. The decline of violence, to be sure, has not been steady; it has not brought violence down to zero (to put it mildly); and it is not guaranteed to continue. But I hope to convince you that it's a persistent historical development, visible on scales from millennia to years, from the waging of wars and perpetration of genocides to the spanking of children and the treatment of animals.

http://edge.org/conversation/mc2011-...iolence-pinker

Pinker is very knowledgeable about the topic and very thorough. History buffs might enjoy the presentation. What struck me is how Pinker is able to show violence today is substantially less than at other times in history and may well decline further.

Despite the length, I enjoyed watching and reading what Dr. Pinker had to say.