The Rational Pessimist

New York Times bestselling author Matt Ridley’s brilliant follow-up to The Rational Optimist, exploring how and why we are squandering our potential for progress with bureaucracy and bad policy, and how we can use innovation and ingenuity to move forward at a time when so much is possible.

It is a terrible time to be alive. It’s also the least bad time to be alive. Yes, there are plagues, wars, dictators, and economic and political collapse, but there is also enormous prosperity. Across the world, lifespans are lengthening, infant mortality is falling, and famine has receded. Wealth, health, knowledge, leisure and even peace and equality (yes!) have been surging, and yet, many despair.

The Rational Pessimist is a wild tour through the unexpected innovations of the past twenty-five years—the rise of social media, mobile everything, satnav, drones, and more. Matt Ridley reminds us that extraordinary changes are possible, if only we get out of our own way. Instead of demonizing the very things that have been the engines of progress—coal, oil, and gas; the free-market; western enlightenment—we can create a future based on the values of the past that have delivered us to our prosperous present. From bungled public health policies and inept governmental communications to misguided energy policies and fear-mongering scientists, to a fiercely judgmental and censorious education system, Ridley argues that our pessimism is largely self-inflicted.

Laced with Ridley’s signature snark and wit, The Rational Pessimist is a blistering, passionate argument about how to save the future (and ourselves) from the malign efforts of technophobics, degrowth activists, crony capitalists, regulatory beadles, eco-crazies, culture warriors, conspiracy theorists, and purveyors of superstition. We could keep wringing our hands in despair, he argues, or we could truly unleash innovation and thrive beyond our wildest dreams.

The choice is ours.


Breakthrough Follow-Up: From New York Times bestselling author Matt Ridley, this compelling sequel to The Rational Optimist examines why progress is stalling—and how we can reignite it through innovation and ingenuity.

Progress Amid Paradox: Explores the striking contrast of modern life—an era of unprecedented prosperity, longer lifespans, and expanding knowledge, alongside widespread pessimism and doom and gloom about the future.

Innovation in Action: A fast-paced tour of the past 25 years of transformative advances—from social media and mobile tech to drones and navigation—highlighting humanity’s capacity for rapid, positive change.

Challenging Modern Narratives: Critiques bureaucracy, flawed public policies, and cultural pessimism while defending the foundational drivers of progress, including free markets, energy resources, and Enlightenment values.

A Call To Choose Optimism: Blending sharp wit with bold argument, Ridley urges readers to reject fear-driven thinking, unleash innovation, and embrace a future shaped by opportunity rather than limitation.