A WORTHY READ THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE: WHY VIOLENCE HAS DECLINED
BY: ANDRE SAMUELS
We imagine our world to be consumed by violence and conflict but a new book challenges our self deprecating myths. Steven Pinker, a Harvard Psychologist, says that our world is not more violent. In fact, he argues that violence is in sharp decline. In his new book “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined,” Pinker explains that while the ethnic cleansing in Darfur and the perpetual infighting in the Middle East might seem to indicate that the world is embroiled in more war then ever, Pinker argues that statistics prove just the opposite.
The increasingly destructive capacity of war and the fact that terrorists can buy powerful weaponry as easily as teenagers buy alcohol has created the popular impression that an increasing number of people are dying as a result of war but Pinker points out, that this is not true either. We actually have fewer wars then humanity has ever had and when we do have wars, those wars are actually less deadly than ever. Of-course these numbers depend on an understanding of statistics in which the hard number of deaths can increase but in terms of our growing population, the percentage of human lives we loose to war and violence can decline. The books premise is compelling but it isn’t unchallenged by critics, who suggest that Pinker is grading on a very large curve. They argue that his assessment of violence, relative to our growing population is a terrible standard to utilize. According to Robert Epstein, of the Scientific American, “By this logic, when we reach a world population of nine billion in 2050, Pinker will conceivably be satisfied if a mere two million people are killed in war that year”. While it may be a bit premature to congratulate ourselves, It is tempting to accept Pinker’s thesis. For those of us that are optimists, Pinker’s book is long awaited good news. We are more than willing to accept, even a hair’s worth, of proof that humanity is evolving. No matter what conclusion we come to, Mr. Pinker’s book is interesting. And thats why its this month’s WORTHY READ!