Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Noam Chomsky, Decision-Making, Collective Action
27 Sep 2017
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Steven pinker"s thesis: our era is less violent than any era in human history. Your chance of dying by violence in prehistoric societies is 15% By 20th century your chance of dying by violence is 3% The creation of states and increase of commerce has decreased violence. Humanitarian revolution (i. e. gay & women"s rights) - increases awareness of improper treatment. Noam chomsky: states generate large-scale violence (usually to their own, moral progress alongside potential nuclear annihilation. Elections > decision making power, changes in governance. Policy decisions > coal mining, solar power, health, education, etc. Law making > legislation, making the rules (i. e. taxes, spending, infrastructure, etc. ) Di erent environmental conditions are mainly the consequence of political decisions. This is why dominican republic is better o . Other examples include: north vs. south korea, nogales (arizona vs. sonora) Property rights, enforcement of contracts, distribution of power, constraints on power. A biological order that includes human, apes, and monkeys .
