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8th out of 262 books
—
125 voters
The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
by
Matt Ridley
Life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down — all across the globe. Though the world is far from perfect, necessities and luxuries alike are getting cheaper; population growth is slowing; Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and conta...more
Hardcover, 448 pages
Published
May 18th 2010
by Harper
(first published January 1st 2010)
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Apr 02, 2013
Richard
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommended to Richard by:
www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16103826
I wanted to read this because of the excellent review in the Economist:
Getting better all the time: The biological, cultural and economic forces behind human progress
.
But I started out skeptical. I’m fairly optimistic that in the long term humans are pretty good at ratcheting up to a better future, but my gut reaction to the wide array of problems facing today’s civilization is that the cumulative effect might trigger a global “reset button” handing us a new Dark Age within a few generations.
I...more
But I started out skeptical. I’m fairly optimistic that in the long term humans are pretty good at ratcheting up to a better future, but my gut reaction to the wide array of problems facing today’s civilization is that the cumulative effect might trigger a global “reset button” handing us a new Dark Age within a few generations.
I...more
3.5. I loved the first two chapters of this. After that, it got steadily worse and I ended up skipping the last 100 pgs.
The premise is that human culture is very adept at innovating and solving problems; as such, the author believes that, despite the pessimism of most people, one can very rationally feel quite optimistic over the future of humanity. We will find solutions to climate change and the other great problems that our species faces.
I am sympathetic to this argument and I thought that...more
The premise is that human culture is very adept at innovating and solving problems; as such, the author believes that, despite the pessimism of most people, one can very rationally feel quite optimistic over the future of humanity. We will find solutions to climate change and the other great problems that our species faces.
I am sympathetic to this argument and I thought that...more
Another Goodreads member, Helen Grant, wrote a scathing review of The Rational Optimist:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I found it particularly offensive and hypocritical that she took Ridley to task for his tone, calling it “blithe and pompous” in the midst of a review which was sarcastic, insulting, smugly self-congratulatory, and just plain vulgar. Certainly, Ridley can be sarcastic, and I consider that a blemish on his otherwise excellent writing. However, if Grant is going to critic...more
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I found it particularly offensive and hypocritical that she took Ridley to task for his tone, calling it “blithe and pompous” in the midst of a review which was sarcastic, insulting, smugly self-congratulatory, and just plain vulgar. Certainly, Ridley can be sarcastic, and I consider that a blemish on his otherwise excellent writing. However, if Grant is going to critic...more
This book is an excellent antidote to the long litany of depressing news that has greeted us in the past few years. In response to the fashionable negativism, Riddley brings forth a veritable machine gun of statistics that show how things really aren't that bad, and, if one dares to go out on a limb, are likely to get better.
One excerpt is so great it is worth quoting in toto [pg. 13:]. Ridley asks us to imagine a better-off-than-average family in Western Europe or eastern North America in 1800:...more
One excerpt is so great it is worth quoting in toto [pg. 13:]. Ridley asks us to imagine a better-off-than-average family in Western Europe or eastern North America in 1800:...more
Is it hard to believe that everything in the world is getting better, day by day? That the life and reality you live in now is exponentially better than the reality your parents, grandparents, and their grandparents grew up in?
I personally thing that people are delusional when they think (or feel) that the past was better compared to the present, and that the future is somehow going into the shitter. I might listen to these ideals, and theories, but rarely do I entertain them.
The Rational Optimi...more
I personally thing that people are delusional when they think (or feel) that the past was better compared to the present, and that the future is somehow going into the shitter. I might listen to these ideals, and theories, but rarely do I entertain them.
The Rational Optimi...more
A truly inspiring book that goes against everything I've ever heard about the future of humanity.
Ridley takes the reader on a journey from the beginnings of mankind through the present to our future as a species. The prognosis: A) We have much to be thankful for today, and B) the future may not be as bleak as we believe, in spite of climate change and other impending problems.
Here's the gist: over time, humanity has managed to capitalize on specialization, trade and the cross-breeding of ideas (...more
Ridley takes the reader on a journey from the beginnings of mankind through the present to our future as a species. The prognosis: A) We have much to be thankful for today, and B) the future may not be as bleak as we believe, in spite of climate change and other impending problems.
Here's the gist: over time, humanity has managed to capitalize on specialization, trade and the cross-breeding of ideas (...more
This is a pop economy book that makes bold suppositions but conveniently glosses over the details. All said, I think you can be a well-informed optimist who still sees light at the end of a dark and harrowing tunnel while soaking up all the gritty details Ridley conveniently chooses to ignore. Even so, this is a frustrating book to read. There were so many contradictory arguments, I wouldn't even know where to begin in picking them apart.
It's not that I don't believe things are getting better,...more
It's not that I don't believe things are getting better,...more
Good theme and rational thought process throughout but unless you are a looking for a textbook type of essay with tons of anthropology and economic theory, this is a very slow read. I ended up taking notes mostly to keep my interest. Basic theme - the collective mind of humans as shown through trade, specialization and innovation - leads to greater prosperity for all. The background for this theme could have been presented in 1/3 of the length of this book and there wouldn't have been so much ci...more
May 22, 2012
Car
added it
A rare book indeed amidst the torrent of tomes focusing on the familiar horsemen of the apocalypse, whether they are of climate change, peak oil, overpopulation, pandemics or our heading towards the singularity.
The author draws his optimism from the well of accumulated human knowledge and ingenuity. He sees humankind's collective brain as a `problem solving machine' and leads the reader engagingly through the bumpy history of cultural, technological and economic development from earliest Palaeol...more
The author draws his optimism from the well of accumulated human knowledge and ingenuity. He sees humankind's collective brain as a `problem solving machine' and leads the reader engagingly through the bumpy history of cultural, technological and economic development from earliest Palaeol...more
Every so often you come across a book that causes you to reevaluate the way you view the world. The Rational Optimist is definitely one of those books. Personally, I think this may be one of the most important books of the last 10 years. In many ways I am an optimist, but when it comes to the bigger picture of the world I would have to admit I have been a pessimist for some time. While I certainly am pessimistic about the short-term in America, we are going to have to feel some pain at some poin...more
Let me start off by saying I'm glad this book was written. I, in general, believe that tomorrow will be better than today in a thousand tiny ways and that human innovation will make us wildly productive towards creating the world of our choosing. That said, this book is not the best proponent of that idea.
Ridley's writing is more eloquent than most with a penchant alliteration that never quite gets annoying. He uses fewer rhetorical questions than he could and comes up with reasonable examples o...more
Ridley's writing is more eloquent than most with a penchant alliteration that never quite gets annoying. He uses fewer rhetorical questions than he could and comes up with reasonable examples o...more
Matt Ridley in the Rational Optimist attempts to take a world of pessimism and turn the glass half full. Drawing upon a myriad of ideas this book seeks to look at how prosperity has evolved through empirical, economic and philosophical analysis. It is through these various strengths that a compelling argument is made although one that like many of the arguments against cannot be settled definitively. By drawing on the philosophies of Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Darwin and Hayek the author brings fo...more
An excellent history of civilization as a concept from prehistory to modern times. Explains why humans evolved and began to trade with each other. Traces progress and improving conditions. Makes the case for being optimistic about the long-term prospects for humanity.
When human beings were all still hunter-gatherers, each needed about 1000 hectares of land to support him or her. Now thanks to modern farming each needs little more than a tenth of a hectare. Since 1900 the world has increased its...more
When human beings were all still hunter-gatherers, each needed about 1000 hectares of land to support him or her. Now thanks to modern farming each needs little more than a tenth of a hectare. Since 1900 the world has increased its...more
I just finished Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley. Because I am an overly pessimistic individual, I expected to hate the book.
I loved the book.
I should point out where I read the book, because context is important in this case. I was in Berlin. My hotel room was about 50 meters away from Checkpoint Charlie the central point of the cold war. I was within 2 minutes the remains of a train station where thousands of Jews were sent to their death. I was near the remains of the Berlin wall built to pre...more
I loved the book.
I should point out where I read the book, because context is important in this case. I was in Berlin. My hotel room was about 50 meters away from Checkpoint Charlie the central point of the cold war. I was within 2 minutes the remains of a train station where thousands of Jews were sent to their death. I was near the remains of the Berlin wall built to pre...more
A Masterpiece. Matt Ridley is always a pleasure to read, but this puts the icing on the cake. If I claimed The Rational Optimist to be the most important non-fiction book I've read in my entire life, it wouldn't be far from the truth. I'll be going through the individual references next week, and looking at their citations for more insights, but seriously, this is a must read. If you want to fight poverty, save the environment, and build a better world - look no further. READ THIS BOOK.
Edit: Al...more
Edit: Al...more
Matt Ridley, science writer and commentator, delivers a blistering attack on the pessimists of the world, who extrapolate their way to doom and gloom, whether it be a new Ice Age, overpopulation, markets rather than hierarchies, energy crises, food scares and epidemics. He shows, with a wealth of examples (not always well referenced - especially the statistics) that the human race, due to its unique in its ability to trade goods, services and ideas with people outside the family or other small g...more
Taking its place as a global history and a guide to clearly understanding why things are as they are in the world, the Rational Optimist has a number of clear premises, each of which is persuasively and clearly demonstrated by examining the actual results of history, rather than the wishful thinking of Utopians.
1. The free exchange of ideas - what he amusingly refers to as "ideas having sex" - has the same evolutionary effect as sexual reproduction; to wit, constant refinement and improvement.
2....more
1. The free exchange of ideas - what he amusingly refers to as "ideas having sex" - has the same evolutionary effect as sexual reproduction; to wit, constant refinement and improvement.
2....more
2 likes · like · see review
It's very rarely i stumble upon such a rare gem. I was initially a bit skeptical, thinking by the title it might be a blabla type feel good book, but i was blown away but i what I found: a very solid strong scientific book with tons of facts and reliable research. And while i did love feeling a biologist was explaining stuff, and it took me back to my old love of history (which i now see in a completely new light) what i was so very impressed to find was that it was written by a man who understa...more
Ridley takes the roundabout path to explaining his optimism, first enthralling the reader with many of the terrible and calamitous aspects of modern humanity, only then digressing into his evaluations and reasons for his (very well-founded) rational optimism. Along the way, one finds much that is well known, but then much more from Ridley that is not widespread or immediately obvious. His depth of knowledge about myriad topics is almost as impressive as the passion and clarity with which he [eve...more
I finished reading Matt Ridley's The Rational Optimist over Rosh Hashana, and it was a heck of a good book. Ridley is a profoundly original thinker: he makes a novel countercultural argument, and makes it extremely well. His basic thesis is that the thing that differentiated us from our Cro-Magnon (etc) ancestors is our communal memory - our ability to, in Jefferson's words, light our taper from his without diminishing his light. He posits that the central innovation here is in fact that innovat...more
Matt Ridley is a former editor of The Economist and his political biases are not hard to predict: generally progressive/liberal goals accomplished through free-market and individualist means. He explores human development through that lens.
His thesis is that the major mechanism of human progress is specialization and exchange of skills, tools and ideas. He starts with the success of Homo Sapiens and the demise of Neanderthals: modern humans developed specialized tasks within their tribes, Neande...more
His thesis is that the major mechanism of human progress is specialization and exchange of skills, tools and ideas. He starts with the success of Homo Sapiens and the demise of Neanderthals: modern humans developed specialized tasks within their tribes, Neande...more
The basic premise of The Rational Optimist is that human prosperity is predominantly founded on two principles: exchange and specialization. As we trade with one another, increasing the breadth of our consumption, but refining the focus of our production, innovation increases, and living standards are raised. The greatest risk to ever increasing prosperity is not economic growth; rather its opposite, a return to self-sufficiency. The history of humanity, even in the face of war, plague, and radi...more
1 like · like · see review
"Stop moping about a grim financial future � because we keep on changing for the better, believes Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist who suggests �We progress when we trade and we only really trade productively when we trust each other�. �
After millions of years of indulging in reciprocal back-scratching of gradually increasing intensity, one species, and one alone, stumbled upon an entirely different trick. Adam gave Oz an object in exchange for a different object�. �
"The...more
After millions of years of indulging in reciprocal back-scratching of gradually increasing intensity, one species, and one alone, stumbled upon an entirely different trick. Adam gave Oz an object in exchange for a different object�. �
"The...more
I don't care if you're a Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Libertarian, Marxist, Liberal, Conservative, Communist (etc.), you must read this book. Whether or not you agree or disagree I can promise that it will change the way you look at things!
Important Notes:
"Those of Libertarian bent often prove more generous than those of a socialist persuasion: where the socialist feels that it is the government's job to look after the poor using taxes, Libertarians think it is their duty" (106).
Pages 110-11...more
Important Notes:
"Those of Libertarian bent often prove more generous than those of a socialist persuasion: where the socialist feels that it is the government's job to look after the poor using taxes, Libertarians think it is their duty" (106).
Pages 110-11...more
Ridley's books on genetics and evolution are clear, well-supported books on the topic, so I was looking forward to his newest piece of non-fiction. Instead it is a conflation of economics, anthropology, genetics, gaming and a half-dozen other disciplines that argues "don't worry, be happy" about human progress.
Though he's right about human progress over centuries, the book would have been laughed off the market had it appeared in a period like that after World War II, when tens of millions had...more
Though he's right about human progress over centuries, the book would have been laughed off the market had it appeared in a period like that after World War II, when tens of millions had...more
4 likes · like · see review
Here is the central thesis of The Rational Optimist: What is uniquely human is that our intelligence is collective and cumulative in a way that is true of no other animal. (Richard Dawkins, of "The Selfish Gene" fame, dubbed the units of cultural imitation that comprise this heritage as "memes".) Evolution in sexually reproducing species is driven by genetic exchange. Culture evolution is much the same, but the unit of exchange is the idea. The truly Big Bang idea was that of division of labor,...more
2 likes · like · see review
Ridley gives a good description of how the barter and exchange of goods and ideas has helped make improvements in human lives. I think, though, he overstates his case, especially in his vilification of straw men (i.e., the government and liberals) and his attacks on pessimists (no matter how out of the mainstream their ideas are/were). This is too bad because he could have had a very good book otherwise. His continual snarking about government intervention in business is especially annoying, and...more
This is a great book that spins a more positive look at both the past and the future. As the title suggests, the author takes a very rational and thought out look at our modern world. Really, things are way better than they have ever been. . A lot of the work was contradictory towards my own beliefs, as the author exposes a more libertarian view of the world. Yet I agreed with most of his points and enjoyed how he approached the subject matter. Most works, no matter what their political slant, c...more
Simply excellent. I have long vacillated between declinist pessimism and technological optimism, but this book has drawn me solidly into the latter camp. Matt Ridley lays out how the human capacity for trade, innovation, and exchange has been improving the human condition throughout history, as well as the grounds for his expectation that humanity will continue to prosper -- and indeed that increases in prosperity will continue accelerating -- into the future. Ridley's no starry-eyed optimist, a...more
Ridley makes the case that trade and specialization has allowed man to solve the problems of his day and consistently raise standards of living globally. In other words, we always seem to be able to come out on the winning side of what seem like intractable issues at the time.
His point is that the doom-sayers of each era are wrong and man has a limitless capacity to make the world a better place. While I agree with his premise, the trend is not linear and not painless - think two World Wars and...more
His point is that the doom-sayers of each era are wrong and man has a limitless capacity to make the world a better place. While I agree with his premise, the trend is not linear and not painless - think two World Wars and...more
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The Hon. Matthew White Ridley (born 7 February 1958, in Northumberland) is an English science writer, businessman and aristocrat. Ridley was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford where he received a doctorate in zoology before commencing a career in journalism. Ridley worked as the science editor of The Economist from 1984 to 1987 and was then its Washington correspondent from 1987 to 1989...more
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“Because it is a monopoly, government brings inefficiency and stagnation to most things it runs; government agencies pursue the inflation of their budgets rather than the service of their customers; pressure groups form an unholy alliance with agencies to extract more money from taxpayers for their members. Yet despite all this, most clever people still call for government to run more things and assume that if it did so, it would somehow be more perfect, more selfless, next time.”
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“It is strange to me that most people assume companies will be imperfect (as they are), but they assume that government agencies will be perfect, which they are not.”
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