There has been lots of contention around this topic. I personally agree with the contrary and Steven Pinkers position. You can see him refute Taleb's claims here:
<a href="http://stevenpinker.com/files/comments_on_taleb_by_s_pinker.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://stevenpinker.com/files/comments_on_taleb_by_s_pinker....</a>
<a href="http://bigthink.com/videos/steven-pinker-redefines-moral-relativism" rel="nofollow">http://bigthink.com/videos/steven-pinker-redefines-moral-rel...</a> : so looking around for what pinker has been upto..clearly he has lost it. Even this example of moral solutions vs non moral solution is wrong as it's possible to do both.<p>Secondly: he brings up Norman Borlaug of the green revolution. First of all, he IS well known. I learnt about him in school. Maybe they didn't in North American schools. Secondly, his 'technology' has made a desert out of the most fertile lands in India. It was chemical farming that destroyed lives, economies, created poverty and spread cancer through the farming community. The land where green revolution was implemented in India is not even arable now. I am not only surprised but shocked that he would bring up Norman Borlaug as a hero..albeit maybe he meant well and didn't know the consequences of his actions.<p>I don't recognize this Steven Pinker or his words from over 15 years ago.
I have seen a lot of comments supporting Pax Americana, stating that we have seen fewer conflicts and therefore that violence has been in decline... This would seem to refute that.