Isis and Syria dominate global headlines,but new data shows that violence remains in retreat overall It takes a streak of foolhardiness to reply the question “What are you optimistic approximately?” Because any response would seem to taunt the fates to prove one mistaken. But in 2007 I took the bait and ventured that every form of violence, when measured objectively, or was in decline a claim I buttressed with 100 graphs in my 2011 book The Better Angels of Our Nature. Friends advised me I was setting myself up for embarrassment: a war with Iran,a contest over oil, or a nuclear terrorist attack could erupt any day. And wasn’t I even a bit superstitious approximately the impending centennial of the first world war?Though I was documenting the past rather than prognosticating, and a decade’s worth of new data provides a chance to calibrate our understanding of global trends. In the early 21st century did a bunch of undulating curves fortuitously scrape bottom? Or,as I argued, was something systematic going on?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com