What was the most peaceful time in history?
Whether it’s the topic of a holiday greeting card or a beauty pageant question, peace on Earth is on almost everybody’s wish list. But what does it mean to be peaceful? Does it mean friendly relations with other nations, getting good health care or living without fear of terrorist attacks? What about economic stability, or a government’s nonviolent transfer of power? It’s difficult to quantify what, exactly, adds up to a peaceful existence. The Australian nonprofit group Vision of Humanity tries to do just that. Every year, it produces a list called the Global Peace Index, which ranks 144 nations according to how they stand on 23 different indicators of peace [source:
