Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
    Unavailable
    The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
    Unavailable
    The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
    Ebook586 pages8 hours

    The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves

    By Matt Ridley

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Listen to the audiobook instead
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 27, 2010
    ISBN9780007374816
    Author

    Matt Ridley

    Matt Ridley's books have sold over a million copies, been translated into 31 languages and won several awards. His books include The Red Queen, Genome, The Rational Optimist and The Evolution of Everything. His book on How Innovation Works was published in 2020, and Viral: the Search for the Origin of Covid-19, co-authored with Alina Chan, was published in 2021. He sat in the House of Lords between 2013 and 2021 and served on the science and technology select committee and the artificial intelligence select committee. He was founding chairman of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle. He created the Mind and Matter column in the Wall Street Journal in 2010, and was a columnist for the Times 2013-2018. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He lives in Northumberland.

    Read more from Matt Ridley

    Related to The Rational Optimist

    Related ebooks

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Slowing Down; Keeping Up

      Dec 30, 2019

      Slowing Down; Keeping Up
      15 min read

    • Article

      Trial in Absentia

      Mar 1, 2020

      Trial in Absentia
      4 min read

    • Article

      Why You Didn’t See It Coming

      Feb 2, 2017

      You don’t see it coming. You probably couldn’t if you tried. The effects of large changes in scale are frequently beyond our powers of perception, even our imagination. They seem to emerge out of nowhere: the cumulative effects of climate change, the

      7 min read

    • Article

      Praying for the Moths and Beetles

      Oct 26, 2017

      ". . . insects as a group are in terrible trouble and the remorselessly expanding human enterprise has become too much, even for them." And instantly I'm beyond the realm of anything I know, as I consider the gradual disappearance not of whales but o

      4 min read

    • Article

      Nature

      Jun 19, 2023

      In an article published last year in the Scientific American, contemplating developments in our search for extraterrestrial life, Andrea Gawrylewski writes, “Given the math, it seems impossible that we humans would be the only living things in the co

      3 min read

    • Article

      It’s Time to Make Human-Chimp Hybrids

      Mar 8, 2018

      It is a bit of a stretch, but by no means impossible or even unlikely that a hybrid or a chimera combining a human being and a chimpanzee could be produced in a laboratory. After all, human and chimp (or bonobo) share, by most estimates, roughly 99 p

      11 min read

    • Article

      Dress for Evolutionary Success: What makes us quintessentially human? Fashion!

      Apr 29, 2013

      Picture one of those ascent-of-man charts that depict a progression of profiles, from an ape walking on all fours to a slumped hominid to a modern human standing erect. What’s missing? The modern human is naked. No accessories! We may not find a chap

      7 min read

    • Article

      ‘Our Wild Calling’ Argues For Emotional Connection With Animals

      Dec 31, 2019

      Richard Louv makes the case that animals not only have emotions, but that humans are enriched by interspecies contact.

      3 min read

    • Article

      No Species Is an Island

      Sep 8, 2021

      The following is adapted from a speech Roger Payne gave at this year’s Interspecies Internet conference. His remarks have been lightly edited for clarity. Because I am involved with the Cetacean Translation Initiative, or Project CETI, I receive crit

      9 min read

    • Article

      Our Most Effective Weapon Is Imagination

      Apr 28, 2021

      In his Theaetetus, Plato remarks to Socrates: “This pathos is proper to the philosopher: It is the thaumazein. And philosophy has no other point of departure than this.” The word, which contains the root thauma, the same that appears in thaumaturgy,

      9 min read

    • Article

      Learning From The Past

      Dec 23, 2020

      Learning From The Past
      5 min read

    • Article

      The End Is Only the Beginning

      Dec 1, 2022

      The End Is Only the Beginning
      14 min read

    • Article

      What Humans Owe Animals

      Jan 21, 2023

      What Humans Owe Animals
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Superorganism That Created the Pandemic

      Mar 26, 2020

      I’ve spent years adventuring in exotic parts of the world seeking out wildlife—weeks in tents in remote wildernesses, nights uncomfortably holed up in hides in rainforests. I’ve drifted through mangroves on boats, even lodged in a tree-canopy camp. A

      5 min read

    • Article

      How Agriculture has Shaped Us

      Jun 3, 2020

      I remember writing years ago about how lovely it would be if, for just one month, the whole human world went quiet. I imagined a beautiful stillness descending on the streets, so that we could begin to think again, contemplate our situation, remember

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Wheels Of Fortune

      Jun 26, 2022

      The Wheels Of Fortune
      4 min read

    Reviews for The Rational Optimist

    4/5

    172 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Too good! After the first chapter I didn't need to read it on, because it was enough to understand his thesis.
    • 4/5
      This book leaves me puzzled. It offers a dazzling overview of human history drenched in an optimistic "progression"-approach. Especially the emphasis on the evergrowing and intertwined role of exchange, specialisation and innovation is an eye-opener. For me, he is also rather convincing in his condemnation of the always returning doomthinking, especially on the climate-change issue. But, on the other hand, this is also a radical, ultra-liberal pamphlet. Ridley glorifies in one-sided freemarket retoric, scorches governments and bureaucracies as catastrofical instruments, and he is extremely apologetic about the record of corporations (although he keeps silent about his own role in the Northern Rock-debacle). So, I'm puzzled: this book is breathtaking ("thoughtprovoking") and horrible at the same time. It doesn't leave you indifferent, for sure. Let me conclude: this is a must-read!
    • 4/5
      This book leaves me puzzled. It offers a dazzling overview of human history drenched in an optimistic "progression"-approach. Especially the emphasis on the evergrowing and intertwined role of exchange, specialisation and innovation is an eye-opener. For me, he is also rather convincing in his condemnation of the always returning doomthinking, especially on the climate-change issue. But, on the other hand, this is also a radical, ultra-liberal pamphlet. Ridley glorifies in one-sided freemarket retoric, scorches governments and bureaucracies as catastrofical instruments, and he is extremely apologetic about the record of corporations (although he keeps silent about his own role in the Northern Rock-debacle). So, I'm puzzled: this book is breathtaking ("thoughtprovoking") and horrible at the same time. It doesn't leave you indifferent, for sure. Let me conclude: this is a must-read!
    • 3/5
      Very thought-provoking. While I don't agree with all Ridley's arguments, the overall thesis is interesting, and the book is definitely worth reading.
    • 4/5
      The short answer to the question implied by the subtitle (according to the author) is specialization and the exchange of goods, services, and ideas. He goes on to show that once our ancestors learned to trade with one another, human prosperity (collectively) began to grow rapidly (relatively speaking) and is likely to continue to do so (on average, over the long run), despite what present day naysayers and doom mongers may say. There have always been those who predict dire futures and proclaim with confidence that the end is near, but they've most always been wrong. The future ends up better...not only better than the one the alarmists predicted but better than at any time in the past. Oddly, although they are most often wrong, pessimists are usually more highly regarded than people who see a more optimistic (and realistic) future. He puts it this way:
      "Optimists are dismissed as fools, pessimists as sages, by a media that likes to be spoon-fed on scary press releases. That does not make the optimists right, but the poor track record of pessimists should at least give one pause."
      Although I cannot agree with every point Matt Ridley makes in this book, it does indeed give one pause. It provokes thought, and that makes it a worthy book in my mind.
      There are times when the book takes on an alarmist tone, seemingly warning that dire consequences for the world can be expected if people listen to alarmists. Ironic that, I thought. And, I think, an exaggeration. One of the reasons dire predictions fail is because alarmists have raised legitimate concerns, and people, through technology and governmental regulations, have taken steps to mitigate the problems. There is no doubt that air pollution, for example, is not as bad as it was half a century ago (at least here in the U.S.) but I have to think that this was, at least in part, a result of the efforts of environmental activists bringing the issue to public awareness, which prompted government regulation, which spurred technological innovation. Without these, would L.A. still be shrouded in smog? I can't know for sure, but I rather suspect it would be. Raising alarm isn't always bad. If a fire is smoldering in a corner, it's helpful if someone tells you they think they smell smoke before the building burns down.
      Still, all in all, a thought provoking read on human progress and on contemporary issues such as organic farming, fossil fuels, climate change, and population. I recommend it.
    • 4/5
      This is an engaging, eye-opening and thought provoking book. I don’t necessarily agree with all of it, but it did make me think about some of the ways media can shape your responses and the way your gut reactions to people, organizations or ideas can lead you to think less carefully about what is real. You do need to challenge your assumptions, and his fundamental premise that things will improve, that we have the potential to come up with innovative and successful solutions to issues as they arrive seems worth considering.
    • 4/5
      Definitely beats the drum for libertarianism. Free market = good, government = bad, we are told repeatedly. This from a guy who ran a bank into the ground with subprime mortgages right before the Great Recession. There is some fascinating stuff in here and it's told well. Take it with a grain of salt, don't take it as your only source of knowledge, but food for thought nonetheless.
    • 2/5
      If you step back a bit it's actually funny if a bit lacking in self-awareness. What the message can be condensed to is: shut up you peasant, stop complaining and get back to work and be thankful you're not dying of smallpox you ungrateful slacker.

      The levels of condescension are unreal. I was genuinely wondering at times if this had been written on a dare.
    • 3/5
      Very tempting title and first several chapters - life has been steadily improving. However, some of these happy platitudes seem to fall apart the further I read.

      I'm not going to dispute the benefits of free trade, the exchange of ideas, and the steady march of technology. On the contrary. I'm even pleased to remark that he has some reasonable understanding of GM crops and is willing to defend them.

      What does bother me is the incomplete and baffling treatment that global warming received. The good effects are a surprising touch, yes, but the bad effects are not wholly neutralized. He dismisses them breezily. I am finding this to be more worrisome than most.

      This is a refreshing breath of fresh air, yes, but one should be prepared to evaluate and analyze all statements, optimistic or otherwise.
    • 4/5
      This book leaves me puzzled. It offers a dazzling overview of human history drenched in an optimistic "progression"-approach. Especially the emphasis on the evergrowing and intertwined role of exchange, specialisation and innovation is an eye-opener. For me, he is also rather convincing in his condemnation of the always returning doomthinking, especially on the climate-change issue. But, on the other hand, this is also a radical, ultra-liberal pamphlet. Ridley glorifies in one-sided freemarket retoric, scorches governments and bureaucracies as catastrofical instruments, and he is extremely apologetic about the record of corporations (although he keeps silent about his own role in the Northern Rock-debacle). So, I'm puzzled: this book is breathtaking ("thoughtprovoking") and horrible at the same time. It doesn't leave you indifferent, for sure. Let me conclude: this is a must-read!
    • 3/5
      A seductive and provocative book that gets you to thinking about the state of our world. At first very convincing about the major thesis that commerce and trade are the keys to progress and a civilized, progressive society but as it moves through historical example after example, you realize he is chosing his examples to fit his obessesive idea rather than exploring the validity of that idea. What seems a fact becomes a cause rather than an exploration. Well worth the reading and the stimulating challenge to conventional pessimism but in the end, a polemic rather than an exploration.
    • 4/5
      In an age of plenty for a sizable portion of the population, why are there so many apocaholics? Heck, I'm one part of the time. Why is it of interest to imagine or predict hundreds of ways that humanity will meet its doom? There are bookshelves loaded with such books, it's a given in most movies, experts abound in bad news, and most individuals have a theory or two on what's going to get us. Are most humans natural pessimists or are the pessimisms justified? Maybe optimism doesn't sell.Ridley, lately of Northern Rock infamy, is an unrepentant optimist. He's a descendant of Adam Smith and Hayak in this regard. Actually, Smith thought there was a limit to growth and equilibrium would be reached in a market economy. Their train of thought is wealth arises from exchange and specialization. Trade and expertise. Because there are no limits to ideas this process can go on for a long time and create immense wealth. The wealth attracts attention from others- power seekers, competitors, empires, governments, and priestly castes- and the process is interrupted or reversed for a time. Still, though exchange and specialization might be suppressed in one area it tends to pop up somewhere else. Back and forth it goes through time and generally ends up raising standards of living in the long run.Hot showers, flushing toilets, media, vacations, travel, transportation, and cheap calories are some of the results. It's estimated that there are upwards of twelve billion consumer products available now. Does this make most of us happy? Hell no! As Paul Krugman, and others, have pointed out, we look at our two BMWs, then notice the neighbors have three, and boy, are we pissed. Ridley actually stays away from the happiness indexes and just focuses on the tangible physical goods and lifestyles we have now. Most of us didn't go to work this week picking cotton with an overseer lashing us with a whip when we had a bad hair moment which resulted in a lackadaisical cotton picking. He admits it still happens in some hellholes but it is not as common as it used to be. Ridley covers several areas including, Malthusian traps, food, inventions, innovation and the two great pessimisms of today: Africa and climate change. He makes and sticks to his case in a clear easy to comprehend style. Most readers will probably find themselves arguing with him a time or two. If you're a dyed in the wool pessimist then you'll likely be arguing with him the whole book or flinging it across or at something or other. If that happens it won't be difficult to find a pessimistic book fix. Those keep on coming like clockwork.