Цитата: The world seems more violent today than ever before. Yet quantitative studies of body counts, such as the proportion of prehistoric skeletons with axe and arrowhead wounds, suggest that prehistoric societies were far more violent than our own (Pinker, 2007)... Estimates show that if the wars of the twentieth century killed the same proportion of the population as ancient tribal wars, then the death toll would have been 20 times higher — 2 billion rather than 100 million (Pinker, 2007). More recent data also show that violence is decreasing over time. European murder rates have decreased dramatically since the Middle Ages (e.g., Eisner, 2001; Gurr, 1981). For example, estimated murders in England dropped from 24 per 100,000 in the fourteenth century to 0.6 per 100,000 by the early 1960s. The major decline in violence seems to have occurred in the seventeenth century during the “ Age of Reason, ” beginning in the Netherlands and England and then spreading to other European countries (Pinker, 2007). Global violence has also been steadily falling since the middle of the twentieth century ( Human Security Brief, 2007 ). For example, the number of battle deaths in interstate wars has declined from more than 65,000 per year in the 1950s to less than 2,000 per year in the 2000s. There also are global declines in the number of armed conflicts and combat deaths, the number of military coups, and the number of deadly violence campaigns waged against civilians. Pinker (2007, p. 18) notes: Cruelty as entertainment, human sacrifice to indulge superstition, slavery as a labor - saving device, conquest as the mission statement of government, genocide as a means of acquiring real estate, torture and mutilation as routine punishment . . . all were unexceptionable features of life for most of human history. But, today, they are rare to nonexistent in the West, far less common elsewhere than they used to be, concealed when they do occur, and widely condemned when they are brought to light . In today’s digital age we certainly are more informed about wars and other acts of violence than in past ages. In the media, if it bleeds it leads. Because violent images are more available to us now than ever before, we might assume that violence levels are also higher. However, while terrible violence still kills thousands or even millions in places like Cambodia, Croatia, Chechnya, and Rwanda, it seems that over time this planet is actually becoming a less violent place to live.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2015-09-18 09:48 pm (UTC)книжка
Цитата:
The world seems more violent today than ever before. Yet quantitative studies of body counts, such as the proportion of prehistoric skeletons with axe and arrowhead wounds, suggest that prehistoric societies were far more violent than our own (Pinker, 2007)... Estimates show that if the wars of the twentieth century killed the same proportion of the population as ancient tribal wars, then the death toll would have been 20 times higher — 2 billion rather than 100 million (Pinker, 2007). More recent data also show that violence is decreasing over time. European murder rates have decreased dramatically since the Middle Ages (e.g., Eisner, 2001; Gurr, 1981). For example, estimated murders in England dropped from 24 per 100,000 in the fourteenth century to 0.6 per 100,000 by the early 1960s. The major decline in violence seems to have occurred in the seventeenth century during the “ Age of Reason, ” beginning in the Netherlands and England and then spreading to other European countries (Pinker, 2007). Global violence has also been steadily falling since the middle of the twentieth century ( Human Security Brief, 2007 ). For example, the number of battle deaths in interstate wars has declined from more than 65,000 per year in the 1950s to less than 2,000 per year in the 2000s. There also are global declines in the number of armed conflicts and combat deaths, the number of military coups, and the number of deadly violence campaigns waged against civilians.
Pinker (2007, p. 18) notes: Cruelty as entertainment, human sacrifice to indulge superstition, slavery as a labor - saving device, conquest as the mission statement of government, genocide as a means of acquiring real estate, torture and mutilation as routine punishment . . . all were unexceptionable features of life for most of human history. But, today, they are rare to nonexistent in the West, far less common elsewhere than they used to be, concealed when they do occur, and widely condemned when they are brought to light .
In today’s digital age we certainly are more informed about wars and other acts of violence than in past ages. In the media, if it bleeds it leads. Because violent images are more available to us now than ever before, we might assume that violence levels are also higher. However, while terrible violence still kills thousands or even millions in places like Cambodia, Croatia, Chechnya, and Rwanda, it seems that over time this planet is actually becoming a less violent place to live.