TOW #17- Is Humanity Getting Better? (non-fiction)

From millions of years ago when the earth formed, to today, where we as a society determine how the earth continues to be formed, the question if we are getting better remains among many.  Is humanity getting better?  Or are we simply adjusting to the way everyday life is, so it merely is an illusion that we are "advancing" into the future.  Writer for the New York Times, Leif Wenar, who is a renowned professor at Oxford University and well known writer for the Times, touches on this so commonly asked question, and uses anecdotes and real data to prove his point, that indeed, society is getting better.
To start off his essay, he recalls London in 1665, while it was being ravaged by the Black Plague.  He tells short anecdotes from this era and place to show what life was like back then.  He recalls how the "government" at the time ordered hunters to kill all the cats and dogs for example. This is an appeal to pathos and logos too, as it provides information and emotional attachment to the essay to gain the readers attention immediately once they begin reading it.  Once he has their attention, he moves along to spit facts about how we truly are getting better.
Wenar goes into details using real data to prove that we are getting better in humanity.  He refers to Joshua Goldstein, a successful and credible writer as well.  He quotes Josh from his essay "How we are winning the war on war."  We do still have many wars and conflicts today, but as the world grows, the casualties decrease. and the amount of peace increases.  Specifically, Wenar quotes from Goldstien that "In the first half of the twentieth century, world wars killed tens of millions and left whole continents in ruins."  This data is used to appeal to logos, as it applies to the more logical side of the argument.  It shows that we are getting better, because we do not have World Wars that leave millions dead.
By simlpy utilising anecdotes and facts, Leif Wenar succesffuly answers and argues his answer to the question of "Is Humanity Getting Better?"