1. Steven Pinker: "I Manage My Controversy Portfolio Carefully”

In this book, Steven Pinker presents a detailed argument that violence has significantly decreased over the course of human history. He uses extensive data and statistical analysis to demonstrate this decline in various domains, including military conflict, homicide, genocide, torture, and the treatment of children, homosexuals, animals, and racial and ethnic minorities. Pinker identifies four key human motivations – empathy, self-control, the moral sense, and reason – as the 'better angels' that have oriented humans away from violence and towards cooperation and altruism. He also discusses historical forces such as the rise of the state (which he terms 'Leviathan'), the spread of commerce, the growth of feminist values, and the expansion of cosmopolitanism, which have contributed to this decline in violence.

In 'Enlightenment Now,' Steven Pinker argues that progress is real and achievable through reason, science, and humanism. The book defends the ideals of the Enlightenment against critics who claim that modernity has failed. Pinker supports his arguments with extensive data showing improvements in health, wealth, peace, and happiness across the globe. He attributes these advancements to the application of scientific knowledge and rational thought to human affairs. The book addresses concerns about inequality, environmental degradation, and existential threats while maintaining an optimistic outlook on the future.