Crime is down during the current recession. It’s possible that the shock simply hasn’t been strong enough, but it may be evidence nonetheless.
I think Hanson’s hypothesis was more about true catastrophes, though—if some catastrophe devastated civilization and we were thrown back into widespread starvation, people wouldn’t worry about morality.
If Robin Hanson is right, moral progress is simply a luxury we indulge in in this time of plenty.
Did crime increase significantly during the Great Depression? Wouldn’t this potentially be falsifying evidence for Hanson’s hypothesis?
Perhaps the Great Depression just wasn’t bad enough, but it seems to cast doubt on the hypothesis, at the very least.
Crime is down during the current recession. It’s possible that the shock simply hasn’t been strong enough, but it may be evidence nonetheless.
I think Hanson’s hypothesis was more about true catastrophes, though—if some catastrophe devastated civilization and we were thrown back into widespread starvation, people wouldn’t worry about morality.
Probably testable—if we can find some poor civilised folk to study.