Matt Ridley, acclaimed author of the classics GENOME and NATURE VIA NURTURE, turns his focus from investigating human nature to investigating human progress. In THE RATIONAL OPTIMIST Ridley offers a counterblast to the prevailing pessimism of our age, and proves that, however much we like to think to the contrary, things are getting better. His surprisingly simple answer centers on the belief that we progress when we trade and we only really trade productively when we trust each other; all described in Ridley's characteristically witty, trenchant and immaculately researched voice.