Rational Optimism | Matt Ridley | EP 153
This episode was recorded on January 11, 2024.
Matt Ridley and I discuss, among other topics, economic optimism, trade through the reciprocity of nations, enlightened self-interest, virtues relation to trade, feeding nine billion people, the triumphs of cities, escape of Malthusian population trap, and more.
Matt Ridley is a British best-selling author (The Origins of Virtue, The Rational Optimist, How Innovation Works, and many more) who is best known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics. He is also a well-respected journalist, businessman, and member of The House of Lords in the United Kingdom.
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Lord, if I could've heard Jordan Peterson's thinking in my teens my subsequent four decades would've been easier!
19:30 "Morality isn't, as it were, taught to us by priests and other people; it's essentially a calculation by us as to what works in the society that we're in. And you kind of calibrate your behavior to find out what is moral, what is ethical, and so on."
Peterson: It is stable enough that it may have become biological.
1:02:42 Overpopulation
These 2 are like musicians on the titanic.
Shows how right wing Peterson is. Ridley is a neoliberal fool.
Matt Riddley mentions people were trading pre-agricultural times in 25:45. He supports his argument with the knowledge of found seashells far from its original places. Doesn't it due to the division of continents at the start of forming the current world shape?
Dr Matt Ridley is brilliant. In the run-up to Christmas 1980, some school friends and I went carol singing, someone's Dad was driving us round. We sang carols for the old Lord Ridley of Blagdon Hall, father of Matt. There was a huge Christmas tree in the hall and a roaring fire in the hearth, such a warm and welcoming atmosphere. We sang our carols and old Lord Ridley rewarded us with Coca Cola and Pringles, first time I had ever eaten the latter snack. A youngish man with dark hair was watching proceedings and I am pretty sure that this young man must have been Matt Ridley. No one goes carol singing any more, which is really sad. Most of the younger people don't know the words to the Christmas carols. Watching this in September 2023, it is so nice to see Dr Peterson looking much healthier now than he did in January 2024, when he was still recovering from his serious illness of 2024 and 2020. It is remarkable how he still managed to write the outstanding 12 Rules for Life – Beyond Order during this period of ill health, which had also included Tammy Peterson's serious health problems.
The great benefits of intelligent people discussing ideas and truths with minor interruptions to pay for the costs of doing so…television cannot compete with this because of the huge amount of time spent on commercials…television only good for immediacy…and ease of access
Watching two white men having Sex (of ideas). Really enjoyed this talk! Especially where they were talking about their psychology under negativ comments and interviews.
Classic Peterson: he invites on someone interesting then does most of the talking. Peterson loves the sound of his own voice.
Thanks
Great, great interview. I would like to make one correction about something Matt Ridley said. Solar power wouldn’t take up nearly enough land as he said IF we powered the world ONLY in solar (which we wouldn’t).
You would only need the area of about the size of New Mexico to power the worlds total electricity needs (and that’s factoring extra solar needed to cover night usage). Dividing that space across the world and you don’t have to cover much, at all, especially when a lot of it could be placed on roofs.
I find it interesting that your guests Matt Ridley finds it as an option to feed cows grass!
Look at all the health problems that are associated to grain-fed cattle and consumption of such products that they produce as milk and butter and obviously Beef!
Sickness in humans is immensely greater in these types of practices versus a natural process for the cattle to eat GRASS and diverse grass types!
Just grass-fed alone for one variety is actually not much better than grain-fed!
Please refer to dr. Berg for reference information!
Thank you gentlemen for an enlightening talk I wish you all well!
God bless JBP! I am from an Eastern Orthodox Christianity country – Bulgaria, and it is amazing how his messages and ideas resonate with our beliefs and faith! I continue to be amazed how realistic and in the same time hopeful his ideas are.
That funny phrase they used, "ideas having sex" well since they're both constantly dealing/trading/discussing new ideas, does that make these guys nerdy whores…? LOL JK i love these guys, I always learn so much from Jordan's podcasts, thank you!
Everyone got richer because of the carbon pulse. Period. Fossil fuels made us richer. We take that away and our civilization collapses. Either we do it ourselves, or mother nature will force us to. These guys completely miss the mark because they don't understand ecology and our place within it.
I think men may have a strong desire for meat bc *on average!!* men have more muscle mass than women.
I DON'T THINK a group vegetarians will likely have a higher muscle mass compared to an equal type group of carnivore or omnivore group.
But it's only an opinion!
Thank you Dr. Peterson and Matt Ridley for this great episode!
Pessimism is fear of the unknown. Therefor people are pessimistic of issues globally because of the unknown facts about places beyond ourselves, family, friends and our local region.
If you don't have a pessimistic view of the human race, then you are just a damned fool.
[ Internal Ref : 15:00 – 28:00 ]
Brilliant Jordan and Matt- Thanks!!!
wrong on renewable energy, but otherwise great
Renewable energy is neo feudal ployin order to keep Land lords rich.
Perhaps if more people controlled their own sexual gratification through morality, self restraint and self respect and planned when to start having children, societies would be better off too. It’s like people need a life coach if they didn’t grow up with two parents and christianity or a moral foundation. Society is out of control these days and most don’t seem to learn from personal experience or historically. In math, 1+1 is no longer 2 either. Convenience has replaced common sense
29:39 Variety, differences, uniqueness, among individuals, cooperating, are an extremely useful and successful evolutionary strategy for humans. and male-female differences are no exception to it. Always more unity is reducing the creativity and survivability of societies.
I just love those small libraries behind them
I wish I had one too
i am stopping listening, the voice of the interviewer is too jarring and interrupting, pity
@21:30 I love it when parrots perform remarkable stunts with regard to the instinct for language.
IE: Talking.
what an amazing duo
Very interesting and brilliant as usual! To be just a little critical I want to say that JP. is to fast to cut off the person he speaks to, a little to often I am afraid…