As Geoffrey Pearson documented in his book, subtitled "A history of respectable fears",[1] the idea of a peaceful past is illusory, at least as far as published reports are available.
The last sentence of his BMJ editorial [2] 30 years ago was, "That the recorded incidence of violence is on the increase may show not that society is falling apart but rather that we live in an increasingly orderly society that tolerates criminal injury far less than in the uncivilised past."
1 Pearson G. Hooligan: a history of respectable fears. London: Macmillan, 1983.
Rapid Response:
Violence: 'twas ever thus
As Geoffrey Pearson documented in his book, subtitled "A history of respectable fears",[1] the idea of a peaceful past is illusory, at least as far as published reports are available.
The last sentence of his BMJ editorial [2] 30 years ago was, "That the recorded incidence of violence is on the increase may show not that society is falling apart but rather that we live in an increasingly orderly society that tolerates criminal injury far less than in the uncivilised past."
1 Pearson G. Hooligan: a history of respectable fears. London: Macmillan, 1983.
2 Pearson G. The roots of violence. BMJ 1988; 297: 1352-3.
https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/297/6660/1352.full.pdf
Competing interests: No competing interests