The Rational Optimist | Viscount Ridley

Author and rational optimist Matt Ridley spoke at The Centre for Independent Studies about the overwhelming evidence that shows life is getting better - despite an abundance of pessimistic counterclaims.
Today there are more than 6 billion people on the planet, 99 per cent of whom are better fed, better sheltered, better entertained and better protected against disease than their Stone Age ancestors. The availability of almost everything a person could want or need has been going erratically upwards for 10,000 years and has rapidly accelerated over the last 200 years...

Yet, bizarrely, however much things improve from the way they were before, people still cling to the belief that the future will be nothing but disastrous. In this original, optimistic book, Matt Ridley puts forward his surprisingly simple answer to how humans progress, arguing that we progress when we trade and we only really trade productively when we trust each other. The Rational Optimist will do for economics what Genome did for genomics and will show that the answer to our problems, imagined or real, is to keep on doing what we've been doing for 10,000 years -- to keep on changing.

Matt's books have sold over 850,000 copies, been translated into 30 languages, short-listed for six literary prizes and won two awards. His work has appeared in The Economist, Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, Guardian, New Scientist, Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, amongst other publications. Matt is Co-founder and President of the International Centre for Life.

Matt's book, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, provides compelling and positive evidence that life has improved dramatically and continues to do so.

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[infinityand]

Oil is a finite resource and eventually oil production will peak. Conventional sources of oil (the cheap to get, good stuff) has already peaked and that is why we are experiencing price increases whenever the economy begins to grow. We are possibly at peak now on total oil production.

[infinityand]

Oil is a key source of energy. There is currently no replacement for oil. People that think that there is a replacement for oil do not comprehensively understand the problem.

[hitssquad]

"cheap energy is what is propping everything up."
Is energy imminently going to stop being as cheap as it is today?

[DystopianEmpire]

dumping raw shit on crops gives the irradiation guy a job, whereas if raw shit wasn't dumped on crops there would be far less risk(a lot less shit) and a better price for the consumer.

[SPEZIO]

We will all be changing alright.
As in the witchcraft trials; CONVICTA ET COMBUSTA

[infinityand]

well, yeah. I think people are slowly starting to wake up this reality. BTW, his reference to the idea that population is set to level off at 9 billion is based on an old evaluation in Nature magazine (I think that is the reference). But, they came back recently and updated their assessment and found that to be incorrect and the population will continue to increase.

[hitssquad]

"well, yeah."
What might cause that?

[DystopianEmpire]

Still need oil for durable plastics, axle grease, and gearbox oil. Think reasonably!

[NaveedAhmed-rzps]

Any body please tell me 03 negative objects from the book with reference

[DystopianEmpire]

Rational optimism aka subjective reasoning and sometimes Stockholm Syndrome.

[hitssquad]

People cant make oil, or, at least, the services that oil provides? Do you find it a little odd that I ask about energy and then you say "oil"? Is oil energy?

[infinityand]

Unfortunately, Ridley completely ignores, or perhaps is delusional, to the reality that cheap energy is what is propping everything up.

[DystopianEmpire]

If you are trying too hard to be optimistic you will not open you mouth far enough to speak necessary and unpleasant truths.