Contenu
Violence is often described as a social issue, a moral failing, or an innate human instinct. But in fact, argues Dr Gary Slutkin, violence is a contagion that infects a society like a disease. And we now know there is a cure.
This isn't a metaphor. In The End of Violence, Dr Slutkin draws on the expertise gleaned from four decades on the frontlines fighting deadly epidemics to reveal that violence operates according to the same predictable logic as every other contagious disease, initially infecting a small number of carriers then spreading from host to host. An act of violence is not just a tragic event - it's patient zero in an outbreak.
Through compelling stories ranging from the war-torn streets of Syria to mass shootings in suburban America, The End of Violence offers a hopeful alternative to the failed strategies of deterrence and incarceration: a proven method that interrupts transmission, changes behaviour, and inoculates against future infection.
Incisive, far-reaching, and ultimately hopeful, The End of Violence is essential reading that offers a new way to protect ourselves, heal our communities, and end the global epidemic of violence during our lifetime.