Numerous statistics have shown that America is the most violent first-world nation. Our murder rate is far higher than that of Japan, Great Britain, and Germany. Why are we so violent?
Psychologist Steven Pinker has an answer:
“The United States has a higher rate of violence, partly because large parts of the country were in a state of anarchy until the 20th century. People could not count on the government to protect them. The cliché of the cowboy movies is that the nearest sheriff is 200 miles away, so you have to protect yourself with your six-shooter. When governments did arrive, people were reluctant to hand over their self-protection. And because the first government in America was a democracy, people were able to impose their wishes. In European countries, first the government disarmed the people and exerted its control many hundred years ago. Then the people democratized the government, but by then the government had already established control.” (link)
