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Commerce and Virtue: Is Money the Root of All Good?

1,646 views · Published 28 January 2011 · 2:18 · Indexed 23 September 2026

Channel: FORA.tv · 2011 · News & Politics

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/11/18/Uncommon_Knowledge_Matt_Ridley

Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, explains how commerce can actually help make people better. He cites numerous studies that conclude the more commercial interactions people are involved in the more they realize the importance of fairness. "You learn pretty quickly that it's not a good idea to insult your customers, or kill them," says Ridley.

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A former science and technology editor for The Economist magazine, Matt Ridley is a journalist and best-selling author whose books include Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. His most recent book is The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves.

Matt Ridley discusses the evolutionary process of "ideas having sex," calling it the secret behind human progress. He asserts that "barter was the trick that changed the world" and outlines his argument that life for the average human being is richer, healthier, and kinder than ever. Finally, he discusses whether limited government and rational optimism go hand in hand. - Hoover Institution

Matt Ridley's books have sold over 800,000 copies, been translated into 27 languages and been short-listed for six literary prizes. In 2004 he won the National Academies Book Award from the US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine for Nature via Nurture.

In 2006, he published, Genome, a national bestseller. In 2007 he won the Davis Prize from the US History of Science Society for Francis Crick. His most recent book, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, was published in 2010.

Peter M. Robinson is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he writes about business and politics, edits Hoover's quarterly journal, the Hoover Digest, and hosts Hoover's television program, Uncommon Knowledge.

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