# Trade Can Make Other People More Valuable Alive by Steven Pinker > “If you have networks of trade and exchange, it becomes cheaper to buy stuff than to steal it; and other people become more valuable to you alive than dead. If you have a rise of commerce and trade, the incentives change and people get less violent.” > **— Steven Pinker**, *Steven Pinker on Violence, full Skeptical Inquirer interview, 2013* ## Sources and Context - **Original publication:** [Steven Pinker on Violence](https://skepticalinquirer.org/2013/07/steven-pinker-on-violence/) — full Skeptical Inquirer interview, 2013; Pinker presents trade as one of several hypothesized historical forces reducing violence. - **Exact original wording:** “If you have networks of trade and exchange, it becomes cheaper to buy stuff than to steal it; and other people become more valuable to you alive than dead. If you have a rise of commerce and trade, the incentives change and people get less violent.” ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Greatest Transformation in Human History|The Greatest Transformation in Human History]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] - [[wiki/Cooperation|Cooperation]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “If you have networks of trade and exchange, it becomes cheaper to buy stuff than to steal it; and other people become more valuable to you alive than dead. If you have a rise of commerce and trade, the incentives change and people get less violent.” — Steven Pinker, Steven Pinker on Violence https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-steven-pinker-trade-make-other-people-more-valuable ```