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kamrat7777's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, but very redundant. Seems like many facts are off or were not properly checked. Still a fun read.
jobjamdaoiwdqjwdoiwq's review against another edition
5.0
Advances in humanity have been the effect of trade and specialization within intra-community as well as inter-community. One person can make 10 fish hooks and sell them while another focuses solely on food instead of each person being self-sufficient. Overall the book is pro-humanity, Ridley constantly rattles against doomsayers of all ages, how we have continually outlived predictions; food shortages, rises in temperature, population excess, whatever it may be - invention (leading to division of labor and division of time) has led to continual success of our race. Especially so in the internet age when our collective knowledge is overflowing and we are connecting ideas around the world. Terrific perspective on the human race, he made many good points for free markets, it's just one of those books I will have forever and hope it finds a nice resting place in my subconscious.
Fantastic book. "It is precisely because so much human betterment has shown to be possible in recent centuries that the continuing imperfection of the world places a moral duty on humanity to allow economic evolution to continue. To prevent change, innovation, and growth is to stand in the way of protentional compassion."
"the pessimists are right when they say that, if the world continues as it is, it will end in disaster for all humanity. If all transport depends on oil, and oil runs out, then transport will cease...But notice the conditional: if. The world will not continue as it is. That is the whole point of human progress, the whole message of cultural evolution, the whole import of dynamic change - the whole thrust of this book. The real danger comes from slowing down the change." p. 281 (great page)
"Yet most anti-corporate activists have faith in the good will of the leviathans that can force you to do business with them [govt], but are suspicious of the behemoths that have to beg for your business. I find that odd." p. 111
Research doesn't equal innovation but in many cases it is only the explanation, "It happens on the shop floor among apprentices and mechanics, or in the workplace...and only rarely as a result of the application and transfer of knowledge from ivory towers of the intelligentsia...Aspirin was curing headaches for more than a century before anybody had the faintest idea how...Food was being preserved by canning long before anybody had any germ theory to explain why it helped."p.258
Fascinating section on Africa as well in the global warming part. Through exchange/trade, trusted laws of personal property, and specialization the nations of Africa can thrive. Foreign aid is not the answer and leads to nothing btw
"As Paul Romer puts it: 'Every generation has perceived the limits to growth that finite resources and undesirable side effects would pose if no new recipes or ideas were discovered. And never generation has underestimated the potential for finding new recipes and ideas. We consistently fail to grasp how many ideas remain to be discovered.'" p.354
Fantastic book. "It is precisely because so much human betterment has shown to be possible in recent centuries that the continuing imperfection of the world places a moral duty on humanity to allow economic evolution to continue. To prevent change, innovation, and growth is to stand in the way of protentional compassion."
"the pessimists are right when they say that, if the world continues as it is, it will end in disaster for all humanity. If all transport depends on oil, and oil runs out, then transport will cease...But notice the conditional: if. The world will not continue as it is. That is the whole point of human progress, the whole message of cultural evolution, the whole import of dynamic change - the whole thrust of this book. The real danger comes from slowing down the change." p. 281 (great page)
"Yet most anti-corporate activists have faith in the good will of the leviathans that can force you to do business with them [govt], but are suspicious of the behemoths that have to beg for your business. I find that odd." p. 111
Research doesn't equal innovation but in many cases it is only the explanation, "It happens on the shop floor among apprentices and mechanics, or in the workplace...and only rarely as a result of the application and transfer of knowledge from ivory towers of the intelligentsia...Aspirin was curing headaches for more than a century before anybody had the faintest idea how...Food was being preserved by canning long before anybody had any germ theory to explain why it helped."p.258
Fascinating section on Africa as well in the global warming part. Through exchange/trade, trusted laws of personal property, and specialization the nations of Africa can thrive. Foreign aid is not the answer and leads to nothing btw
"As Paul Romer puts it: 'Every generation has perceived the limits to growth that finite resources and undesirable side effects would pose if no new recipes or ideas were discovered. And never generation has underestimated the potential for finding new recipes and ideas. We consistently fail to grasp how many ideas remain to be discovered.'" p.354
phouweling's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very rich book about 200,000 years of progress of humankind, driven by trade and specialization. It is the 'collective mind' that has capacious problem-solving skills that has led to tremendous growth in prosperity. In the last chapters the author makes the case that people will also solve the two major problems of our time: poverty in Africa and climate change.
davidr's review against another edition
5.0
Pessimists get all the media coverage; optimists are poo-pooed for their naivete. Nevertheless, Matt Ridley puts together a good argument that in general, conditions in the world are improving. Not everywhere, of course; but in general, living conditions are improving, there is less violence, innovation is accelerating, and the dire events predicted by doomsayers are not coming true.
Free trade, cheap energy, and specialization are the things that help grow civilizations. Science is not the cause of, but a by-product of innovation. Innovation is the result of new ideas "having sex" with each other. These and many other interesting concepts are explained in this book, and make it very enjoyable.
Free trade, cheap energy, and specialization are the things that help grow civilizations. Science is not the cause of, but a by-product of innovation. Innovation is the result of new ideas "having sex" with each other. These and many other interesting concepts are explained in this book, and make it very enjoyable.
vhp73094's review against another edition
5.0
Advances in humanity have been the effect of trade and specialization within intra-community as well as inter-community. One person can make 10 fish hooks and sell them while another focuses solely on food instead of each person being self-sufficient. Overall the book is pro-humanity, Ridley constantly rattles against doomsayers of all ages, how we have continually outlived predictions; food shortages, rises in temperature, population excess, whatever it may be - invention (leading to division of labor and division of time) has led to continual success of our race. Especially so in the internet age when our collective knowledge is overflowing and we are connecting ideas around the world. Terrific perspective on the human race, he made many good points for free markets, it's just one of those books I will have forever and hope it finds a nice resting place in my subconscious.
Fantastic book. "It is precisely because so much human betterment has shown to be possible in recent centuries that the continuing imperfection of the world places a moral duty on humanity to allow economic evolution to continue. To prevent change, innovation, and growth is to stand in the way of protentional compassion."
"the pessimists are right when they say that, if the world continues as it is, it will end in disaster for all humanity. If all transport depends on oil, and oil runs out, then transport will cease...But notice the conditional: if. The world will not continue as it is. That is the whole point of human progress, the whole message of cultural evolution, the whole import of dynamic change - the whole thrust of this book. The real danger comes from slowing down the change." p. 281 (great page)
"Yet most anti-corporate activists have faith in the good will of the leviathans that can force you to do business with them [govt], but are suspicious of the behemoths that have to beg for your business. I find that odd." p. 111
Research doesn't equal innovation but in many cases it is only the explanation, "It happens on the shop floor among apprentices and mechanics, or in the workplace...and only rarely as a result of the application and transfer of knowledge from ivory towers of the intelligentsia...Aspirin was curing headaches for more than a century before anybody had the faintest idea how...Food was being preserved by canning long before anybody had any germ theory to explain why it helped."p.258
Fascinating section on Africa as well in the global warming part. Through exchange/trade, trusted laws of personal property, and specialization the nations of Africa can thrive. Foreign aid is not the answer and leads to nothing btw
"As Paul Romer puts it: 'Every generation has perceived the limits to growth that finite resources and undesirable side effects would pose if no new recipes or ideas were discovered. And never generation has underestimated the potential for finding new recipes and ideas. We consistently fail to grasp how many ideas remain to be discovered.'" p.354
Fantastic book. "It is precisely because so much human betterment has shown to be possible in recent centuries that the continuing imperfection of the world places a moral duty on humanity to allow economic evolution to continue. To prevent change, innovation, and growth is to stand in the way of protentional compassion."
"the pessimists are right when they say that, if the world continues as it is, it will end in disaster for all humanity. If all transport depends on oil, and oil runs out, then transport will cease...But notice the conditional: if. The world will not continue as it is. That is the whole point of human progress, the whole message of cultural evolution, the whole import of dynamic change - the whole thrust of this book. The real danger comes from slowing down the change." p. 281 (great page)
"Yet most anti-corporate activists have faith in the good will of the leviathans that can force you to do business with them [govt], but are suspicious of the behemoths that have to beg for your business. I find that odd." p. 111
Research doesn't equal innovation but in many cases it is only the explanation, "It happens on the shop floor among apprentices and mechanics, or in the workplace...and only rarely as a result of the application and transfer of knowledge from ivory towers of the intelligentsia...Aspirin was curing headaches for more than a century before anybody had the faintest idea how...Food was being preserved by canning long before anybody had any germ theory to explain why it helped."p.258
Fascinating section on Africa as well in the global warming part. Through exchange/trade, trusted laws of personal property, and specialization the nations of Africa can thrive. Foreign aid is not the answer and leads to nothing btw
"As Paul Romer puts it: 'Every generation has perceived the limits to growth that finite resources and undesirable side effects would pose if no new recipes or ideas were discovered. And never generation has underestimated the potential for finding new recipes and ideas. We consistently fail to grasp how many ideas remain to be discovered.'" p.354
larsdhhedbor's review against another edition
5.0
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. Trade leads to prosperity, and it is the single thing that separates modern human civilization from any other species - and from our own species' precarious status on this planet prior to the development of trade.
3. The human condition has been getting better since the dawn of history, and there is no reason to believe that it will do anything but continue to improve.
4. Every generation has had its doomsayers - and every single generation has found ways to change the preconditions upon which the doomsayers' predictions rested.
Extremely approachable, and highly enjoyable, this book will enable you to engage the world with a greater sense of optimism, and yes, even rationality.
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. Trade leads to prosperity, and it is the single thing that separates modern human civilization from any other species - and from our own species' precarious status on this planet prior to the development of trade.
3. The human condition has been getting better since the dawn of history, and there is no reason to believe that it will do anything but continue to improve.
4. Every generation has had its doomsayers - and every single generation has found ways to change the preconditions upon which the doomsayers' predictions rested.
Extremely approachable, and highly enjoyable, this book will enable you to engage the world with a greater sense of optimism, and yes, even rationality.
askheidi's review against another edition
1.0
Worst read of 2020 by far. The book starts with an interesting, if obvious, premise: the world is better off than at any point in history, and the primary reason for that is that society is the totality of the human experience.
As another reviewer, Koen, puts it far better than I could: Author Matt Ridley “goes off into a surprisingly shameless historical revisionism in support of unfettered free enterprise and against any kind of government regulation...What he does not do, however, is make any sort of case that these upward trends will continue indefinitely.”
If you need to know if this book is for you, let me save you some time: he thinks climate change is a grab for research dollars and was a chairman of Northern Rock in the years leading up to its bank run - you know, the very sector that could have done with some of that horrible government regulation.
Truly a slog, punctuated with very occasional bursts of actual interesting historical anecdotes but there are better books that can describe the history of innovation.
As another reviewer, Koen, puts it far better than I could: Author Matt Ridley “goes off into a surprisingly shameless historical revisionism in support of unfettered free enterprise and against any kind of government regulation...What he does not do, however, is make any sort of case that these upward trends will continue indefinitely.”
If you need to know if this book is for you, let me save you some time: he thinks climate change is a grab for research dollars and was a chairman of Northern Rock in the years leading up to its bank run - you know, the very sector that could have done with some of that horrible government regulation.
Truly a slog, punctuated with very occasional bursts of actual interesting historical anecdotes but there are better books that can describe the history of innovation.
speljamr's review
4.0
Is the world slowly slipping into chaos? Were things truly better in the past? Is poverty taking hold in more places? According to Matt Ridley these assertions are simply not true, although you wouldn't know it from watching the news. Through his research he has found the opposite to be true: we are all richer today than our ancestors; we have more comforts today than even the recent past; we are healthier and living longer; and the future looks like things will continue to get even better.
Mr. Ridley does not insinuate that society does not have problems to solve, but that we will likely solve them and prosperity will continue to grow. This book carefully goes through several facets of modern society, such as food production, monetary wealth, and scientific and industrial progress, and shows how they measure up with the past. In no case could the author find us in a worse position today than those who lived before us. He even takes on global warming and how it may impact our future. I suspect this section will anger a few, but it should certainly give one something to ponder carefully.
The author clearly takes an optimistic approach to the future, as the book's title suggests. This book will challenge even the most stringent pessimist, though I am sure that it will not make the doomsayers go away; how else could we sell news? I have to admit to a bit of an optimistic outlook even prior to reading this book, but after reading Mr. Ridley's work I am now officially in the Rational Optimist camp. There are certainly things that could make the future more bleak than today, but I am convinced that these things are so rare that there is good reason to believe that we will meet the challenges of tomorrow head on and continue to prosper.
I believe this book is a must read for anyone interested in, or studying, economics. Those interested in human progress or futurism should also find it of interest.
Mr. Ridley provides plenty of notes and additional reading material in the back of the book; I expect it will give me a list for much future reading.
Mr. Ridley does not insinuate that society does not have problems to solve, but that we will likely solve them and prosperity will continue to grow. This book carefully goes through several facets of modern society, such as food production, monetary wealth, and scientific and industrial progress, and shows how they measure up with the past. In no case could the author find us in a worse position today than those who lived before us. He even takes on global warming and how it may impact our future. I suspect this section will anger a few, but it should certainly give one something to ponder carefully.
The author clearly takes an optimistic approach to the future, as the book's title suggests. This book will challenge even the most stringent pessimist, though I am sure that it will not make the doomsayers go away; how else could we sell news? I have to admit to a bit of an optimistic outlook even prior to reading this book, but after reading Mr. Ridley's work I am now officially in the Rational Optimist camp. There are certainly things that could make the future more bleak than today, but I am convinced that these things are so rare that there is good reason to believe that we will meet the challenges of tomorrow head on and continue to prosper.
I believe this book is a must read for anyone interested in, or studying, economics. Those interested in human progress or futurism should also find it of interest.
Mr. Ridley provides plenty of notes and additional reading material in the back of the book; I expect it will give me a list for much future reading.