Without the Police Logs and the crime reports, the Lehighton Times News would be a very thin newspaper. Violence appears to be endemic, and we long for the good old days when people knew how to behave.
On the other hand, Steven Pinker, Harvard professor and “evolutionary psychologist,” believes we are now living in what is probably the least violent time in human history. In Pinker’s latest book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, he writes: “Believe it or not--and I know that most people do not--violence has declined over long stretches of time, and today we may be living in the most peaceable era of our species’ existence.” The book is loaded with charts and statistics to back up this conclusion. Here is one example: homicide rates in England are about one-hundredth of what they were in 1400.
We obviously still have the capacity for violence, but Pinker argues that the rise of government lessened violence. Prior to the state, vendettas, blood feuds, and clan violence were the accepted ways to correct a perceived wrong. With the development of the state, government took over the responsibility of punishing the bad guys.
On a more pessimistic note, Dr. Pinker notes that just as social conditions can bring about a lessening of violence, violence can also increase. In a society enamored of crime shows, violent video games, and NRA-inspired weapon availability, we may be seeing a return to higher homicide rates. That last sentence is my view, not Dr. Pinker’s.
Homicides 1/100th of what they were in 1400?...Now there's something to think about! Thanks for reminding me of how grateful I am to be living in quiet, boring Palmerton where the last murder was probably a decade ago or longer!
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