The Rational Optimist (P.S.)

by Matt Ridley

I am a rational optimist: rational, because I have arrived at optimism not through temperament or instinct, but by looking at the evidence.

‘the compression of morbidity’

Getting richer is not the only or even the best way of getting happier.

The argument is not that exchange teaches people to be kind; it is that exchange teaches people to recognise their enlightened self-interest lies in seeking cooperation.