Description

A delightful and fascinating book filled with insight and wit, which will make you think twice and cheer up. Steven Pinker

In a bold and provocative interpretation of economic history, Matt Ridley, the New York Times-bestselling author of Genome and The Red Queen, makes the case for an economics of hope, arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and changewhat Ridley calls cultural evolutionwill inevitably increase human prosperity. Fans of the works of Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel), Niall Ferguson (The Ascent of Money), and Thomas Friedman (The World Is Flat) will find much to ponder and enjoy in The Rational Optimist.

For two hundred years the pessimists have dominated public discourse, insisting that things will soon be getting much worse. But in fact, life is getting betterand at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down all across the globe. Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching peoples lives as never before.

An astute, refreshing, and revelatory work that covers the entire sweep of human historyfrom the Stone Age to the InternetThe Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.

Author: Matt Ridley
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 06/07/2011
Series: P.S.
Pages: 480
Weight: 0.8lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.20w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780061452062
Language: English