Matt Ridley, acclaimed author of the classics Genome and Nature via Nurture, turns from investigating human nature to investigating human progress. In The Rational Optimist Ridley offers a counterblast to the prevailing pessimism of our age, and proves, however much we like to think to the contrary, that things are getting better. Over 10,000 years ago there were fewer than 10 million people on the planet. Today there are more than 6 billion, 99 per cent of whom are better fed, better sheltered, better entertained ...
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Matt Ridley, acclaimed author of the classics Genome and Nature via Nurture, turns from investigating human nature to investigating human progress. In The Rational Optimist Ridley offers a counterblast to the prevailing pessimism of our age, and proves, however much we like to think to the contrary, that things are getting better. Over 10,000 years ago there were fewer than 10 million people on the planet. Today there are more than 6 billion, 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: calories; vitamins; clean water; machines; privacy; the means to travel faster than we can run, and the ability to communicate over longer distances than we can shout. 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.
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Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.S. ) to cart. $1.26, good condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
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Good. All pages and cover are intact including the dust cover if applicable. Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May include From the library of labels. Shrink wrap dust covers or boxed set case may be missing. Item may be missing bundled media.
Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.S. ) to cart. $1.27, very good condition, Sold by Greenworld Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
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Very Good condition book with a firm cover and clean pages. Shows normal use and some light wear or limited notes markings. A solid nice copy to enjoy.
Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.S. ) to cart. $1.59, good condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
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Good. Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. May be ex-library with library markings. Ships promptly!
Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.S. ) to cart. $1.64, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books East rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale Heights, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
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Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.S. ) to cart. $1.73, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
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Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.S. ) to cart. $2.11, good condition, Sold by Evergreen Goodwill rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.S. ) to cart. $2.19, fair condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
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Fair. This copy has clearly been enjoyed-expect noticeable shelf wear and some minor creases to the cover. Binding is strong and all pages are legible. May contain previous library markings or stamps.
Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves to cart. $2.64, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
Add this copy of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves to cart. $2.64, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Harper Perennial.
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There is plenty of bad news about the state of the world and the state of humanity. There are also many possibilities that surprise us by demonstrating examples of improvement, of better than expected outcomes beyond the daily news. Any book that can lift us over the doldrums may be just the "must read it" we were seeking.
Matt Ridley has written The Rational Optimist, How Prosperity Evolves, and you really must read it. I mean it! Read for yourself how brilliance can prevail in place of automatic pessimism. See how human life has consistently improved over the course of history. See how humanity creates, shares, and spreads wealth. Go for it!
