I think it's likely that the civilizing effect of literature has done most of the work, and still continues to do. Look at Steven Pinker's book, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. It proves beyond any shadow of doubt that violence has declined dramatically throughout the centuries. There are various reasons for it: the rise of the state, Leviathan, the monopoly of violence, children's rights, animal rights. They're all positive signs.
Martin AmisI'm afraid the negative things are always the great subjects. Failure is much more interesting than success.
Martin AmisSince it is no longer permissible to disparage any single faith or creed, let us start disparaging all of them... A religion is a belief system with no basis in reality whatever. Religious belief is without reason and without dignity, and its record is near-universally dreadful.
Martin AmisThey're always looking forward to going places they're just coming back from, or regretting doing things they haven't yet done. They say hello when they mean goodbye.
Martin AmisFor both of us, I think, it had to do with our weakened power to love. It is strange that enslavement should have that effect โ not just the fantastic degradation, not just the fear and the boredom and all the rest, but also the layered injustice, the silent injustice. So all right. Weโre back where we started. To you, nothing โ from you, everything. They took it from me, it seems, for no reason, other than that I value it so much.
Martin Amis