Whatup, world. Hasn’t it been looking like our shit’s pretty doomed?
It’s not, says Matt Ridley: “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 shitpping are enriching people’s lives as never before.”
Tough time for a book like this, but Matt makes a solid case for those wishing to go to sleep a little happier tonight…
“The bottom-up world is going to be the great theme of this century. Doctors are having to get used to well-informed patients who have researched their own illnesses. Journalists are adjusting to readers and viewers who assemble their news on demand. Broadcasters are learning to let their audiences choose the talent that will entertain them. Engineers are sharing problems to find solutions. Manufacturers are responding to customers who order their products a la carte. Genetic engineering is going to become open-source, where people, not corporations, decide what combinations of genes they want. Politicians are increasingly corks tossed on the wave of public opinion. Dictators are learning that their citizens can organize riots by text message.”
– Matt Ridley, The Rational Optimist
Still, if you want help preparing for the Apocalypse, click here.
Also check out Matt’s latest column in the Wall Street Journal: “Where Blue Eyes Came From.” It’s about how culture changes genes.
