Back in the day, it seems that people took things into their own hands a whole lot more often than what we see now. Today, policing is better and the courts are more active, so instead of lynch mobs and wives poisoning their husbands, we “call Saul”. I recall my parents and their friends would occasionally talk about citizen arrests.

I’m not sure about the trade-off. We are more “civilized”, but contracting out the psychic effort of law enforcement has left us passive in the face of some threats. People remark on the lack of spree killers in earlier times: maybe there was more fear of the guy next door and the immediate justice.

Also, more effective institutions have allowed our “leaders” to embark on more ambitious social projects, such as civil rights and mass immigration. “Don’t fear the more criminally minded stranger; we’ve got that figured out now, so just enjoy all the good social signaling you will get by subscribing to the latest inclusive goodthinking.”