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No other book has broadened my perspective like this one.
Here are my main insights from "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley.
Thankful for this recommendation from @naval.
//THREAD//
1/17
Here are my main insights from "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley.
Thankful for this recommendation from @naval.
//THREAD//
1/17
-> The real cost to acquire something is not how much money we pay. It's how much time we spent working to get it.
Prosperity means getting more goods and services for the same amount of time worked.
That implies people have to depend on one another.
2/17
Prosperity means getting more goods and services for the same amount of time worked.
That implies people have to depend on one another.
2/17
-> Prosperity requires trust.
If people trust one another, the exchange of goods and services is frictionless, because no one needs to be constantly looking over their shoulder.
Since prosperity requires efficient exchanges, trust is a key mediator of prosperity.
3/17
If people trust one another, the exchange of goods and services is frictionless, because no one needs to be constantly looking over their shoulder.
Since prosperity requires efficient exchanges, trust is a key mediator of prosperity.
3/17
-> Don't aim to be self-sufficient.
The main reason why humanity thrives is interdependence.
If you become an island, you'll have to do every single task by yourself. That means spending much longer working than if you relied on other people.
4/17
The main reason why humanity thrives is interdependence.
If you become an island, you'll have to do every single task by yourself. That means spending much longer working than if you relied on other people.
4/17
-> Stop chasing happiness.
People are programmed to keep evolving, not to be satisfied.
Natural selection made us evolve to have the ambition of creating successful offspring, not being perpetually content with what we have already achieved.
5/17
People are programmed to keep evolving, not to be satisfied.
Natural selection made us evolve to have the ambition of creating successful offspring, not being perpetually content with what we have already achieved.
5/17
-> We all want to be seen.
There's a force that propels someone to accumulate status symbols. And there's also a force that propels someone else to do useful stuff for other people.
Those forces are one and the same - the need to be loved, seen, and admired.
6/17
There's a force that propels someone to accumulate status symbols. And there's also a force that propels someone else to do useful stuff for other people.
Those forces are one and the same - the need to be loved, seen, and admired.
6/17
-> We don't value what we have in abundance.
If we have never lacked a certain good, we assume it's not valuable.
That comes from the assumption that everyone else's life is comparable to ours, which is a highly biased perspective.
7/17
If we have never lacked a certain good, we assume it's not valuable.
That comes from the assumption that everyone else's life is comparable to ours, which is a highly biased perspective.
7/17
-> Good news are not news.
We are wired to pay attention to what's wrong, instead of to what's right. Bad news cause much more impact on us.
That's why you rarely see a positive headline on the first page of a newspaper.
8/17
We are wired to pay attention to what's wrong, instead of to what's right. Bad news cause much more impact on us.
That's why you rarely see a positive headline on the first page of a newspaper.
8/17
-> We're all rowing this boat together.
It would be impossible to take the leaps we have taken with single brains thinking independently.
The extraordinary progress humanity has experienced over the course of its existence was a collective phenomenon.
9/17
It would be impossible to take the leaps we have taken with single brains thinking independently.
The extraordinary progress humanity has experienced over the course of its existence was a collective phenomenon.
9/17
-> Ideas multiply.
There is no such thing as an original idea. Every idea is the result of the procreation of other ideas.
The more ideas available, the more can be created.
"To create is to recombine." - François Jacob
10/17
There is no such thing as an original idea. Every idea is the result of the procreation of other ideas.
The more ideas available, the more can be created.
"To create is to recombine." - François Jacob
10/17
-> Commerce kick-started human civilization.
Commerce allowed humans to discover the benefits of the division of labor and specialization for mutual benefit.
If each individual is good at a different task and there is exchange, everyone wins.
11/17
Commerce allowed humans to discover the benefits of the division of labor and specialization for mutual benefit.
If each individual is good at a different task and there is exchange, everyone wins.
11/17
-> Suffering is relative.
Someone who has just been fired from their job might be suffering just as much as a refugee who had to flee a genocide scene.
Context determines everything - it's the relative, not the absolute, that matters.
12/17
Someone who has just been fired from their job might be suffering just as much as a refugee who had to flee a genocide scene.
Context determines everything - it's the relative, not the absolute, that matters.
12/17
-> The definition of a high standard of life is consuming more and doing less.
"Diverse consumption, simplified production. Make one thing. Use lots."
13/17
"Diverse consumption, simplified production. Make one thing. Use lots."
13/17
-> Innovation is limitless, and that's extremely optimistic.
Pessimism often arises from an attempt to solve future problems with current solutions.
100 years ago we didn't have a machine to slice bread. Now we have a portable device to access the collective intelligence
14/17
Pessimism often arises from an attempt to solve future problems with current solutions.
100 years ago we didn't have a machine to slice bread. Now we have a portable device to access the collective intelligence
14/17
-> No incentive to move means no movement at all.
Monopolies bring stagnation because they have absolutely no incentive to innovate.
Instead of serving their consumers, they simply aim to fulfill their interests.
15/17
Monopolies bring stagnation because they have absolutely no incentive to innovate.
Instead of serving their consumers, they simply aim to fulfill their interests.
15/17
-> There's almost always a parasite.
“Empires bought stability at the price of creating a parasitic court;
monotheistic religions bought social cohesion at the expense of a parasitic priestly class;
nationalism bought power at the expense of a parasitic military;
(...)
16/17
“Empires bought stability at the price of creating a parasitic court;
monotheistic religions bought social cohesion at the expense of a parasitic priestly class;
nationalism bought power at the expense of a parasitic military;
(...)
16/17
(...)
socialism bought equality at the price of a parasitic bureaucracy;
capitalism bought efficiency at the price of parasitic financiers.”
17/17
socialism bought equality at the price of a parasitic bureaucracy;
capitalism bought efficiency at the price of parasitic financiers.”
17/17
