Kerby Anderson

Even though there is lots of evidence that violence is declining, many people don’t believe it. On my radio program, we have documented that the violent crime rate has dropped significantly over the last few decades. And if you want a longer look at the decline in violence over millennia, you could pick up the 2011 book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, by Steven Pinker.

Apparently, many people don’t believe it. That is why he spends a few pages in his 2018 book, Enlightenment Now, trying to answer some of the skeptical comments and questions. Here are a few of his responses.

Some wonder how you can say violence has decreased when we hear about school shootings and terrorist bombings. He points out that decline is not the same thing as disappearance. Something can decrease quite a bit without vanishing altogether. The best way to examine the level of violence is to look at the level today and compare it to the level in the past.

Others argue that all of these statistics mean nothing if you are one of the victims. That is certainly true. But it also means that you are less likely to be a victim. All the stories about civil wars, terrorist attacks, and other examples of violence make us feel like the world is more dangerous than it was in the past.

He has even heard people charge him with being naïve, sentimental, idealistic, and romantic because he says violence has gone down. He merely says, look at the data. To look at the data and still say that violence has gone up is delusional. To ignore the data and say that violence has gone up is to be a know-nothing.

This discussion about violence is yet another reminder that there is often a major difference between perception and reality. That is why we need to do good research and exercise discernment.