Does centralized power reduce violence?

In a discussion with Michael Huemer, Dwarkesh Patel explores whether centralized power reduces violence. Citing Steven Pinker's "The Better Angels of Our Nature," Patel notes that there is empirical evidence suggesting a decrease in violence as power centralizes. For instance, moving from primitive tribes to structured states and from feudal periods with many independent units to centralized monarchies has corresponded with reductions in violence, death, war, and homicide rates. Huemer agrees that centralized power can suppress small-scale violence, like one-on-one murders, but also engages in large-scale violence, such as wars 1 .

Dwarkesh Patel highlights how the central government can reduce everyday violence even if it might perpetrate larger conflicts, aligning with the empirical data presented by Pinker.