[hackeraccount]

That doesn't really line up with Pinker's argument does it? He's not saying things have been fine and so will be in the future. He's saying that the further back you go the worse things were.

The line I always use about running a marathon is that you always feel worse each mile but it's not a continuous down hill slope - sometimes things stay the same for a bit and sometimes they even get better before getting worse gain.

Pinker is arguing for a reverse marathon view. Sure sometimes one year is worse then the one before it - or a decade or a century. The trend though is towards improvements in the human condition.