The rational optimist : how prosperity evolves / Matt Ridley

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Life is getting better - and at an accelerating rate. The pessimists who dominate public discourse insist that we will soon reach a turning point and things will start to get worse. This bold book covers the entire sweep of human history, from the Stone Age to the Internet, from the stagnation of the Ming empire to the invention of the steam engine, from the population explosion to the likely consequences of climate change. It ends with a confident assertion that thanks to the ceaseless capacity of the human race for innovative change, and despite inevitable disasters along the way, the twenty-first century will see both human prosperity and natural biodiversity enhanced. Acute, refreshing, and revelatory, The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.