Is the World Getting Worse? Matt Ridley Doesn’t Think So

The clock is ticking on the end of the world. Climate change, viruses, acid rain, and violence are sure to wipe us all out! Mankind is doomed!

Or is it?

Our guest in this interview is Matt Ridley, who argues that the world’s focus on doom and gloom is nothing new, but something people have been propping up for literally millennia. He’s observed a strange phenomenon wherein every generation seems to think that they exist precisely at the peak of human history. Life is great for them, but everything is about to change for the worse.

So who is he to be commenting on any of this? Ridley has worked as a journalist, author, businessman, and member of the House of Lords. He’s written for many of the most well-known publications on the planet, including The Economist, The Daily Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal, and The Times. In his book, The Rational Optimist, he makes the case for an economics of hope, arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and change will inevitably increase human prosperity.

Most importantly, Ridley contends that pessimism holds humanity back. Innovations most commonly come from ambitious, optimistic individuals such as Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Thomas Edison, and pioneer of the first vaccine, Edward Jenner. And it doesn’t stop there. Severe, fear-based regulation of industries such as nuclear power leads to less innovation, inevitably leaving us less safe.

Join us as Matt Ridley makes the case for rational optimism and a bright future for our children.

Learn more about Matt Ridley at his website.

Purchase a copy of his book The Rational Optimist here.