The world is tumultuous. Every day there are reports of bombings or homicides or abuse. However, despite what feels like a great deal of violence, this time is much more peaceful than others in human history. Think back to the World Wars, the Dark Ages, the Crusades.
Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker claims that we are indeed living in the most peaceable time in human history. He compiled copious amounts of data on many different sources of human cruelty—rape, international warfare, abuse of animals, and genocide to name a few. For each type of violence, he found that it was in fact declining.
For example, modern homicide rates in Europe are 10-50 times lower than in the Middle Ages. State sanctioned violence, such as corporal punishment and the death penalty, has also declined. Despite what the media tells us, perhaps we should be thankful to live in a time when human violence is at a low.