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Authors: Matt Ridley

The Rational Optimist (57 page)

BOOK: The Rational Optimist
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  • Obama, Barack 203
  • obesity 8, 156, 296, 337
  • obsidian 53, 92, 127
  • occupational safety 106–7
  • ocean acidification 280, 340–41
  • ochre 52, 53, 54, 92
  • octopi 3
  • Oersted, Hans Christian 272
  • Oetzi (mummified ‘iceman’) 122–3, 132–3, 137
  • Ofek, Haim 131
  • Ohalo II (archaeological site) 124
  • oil: and ‘curse of resources’ 31, 320; drilling and refining 242, 343; and generation of electricity 239; manufacture of plastics and synthetics 237, 240; pollution 293–4, 385; prices 23, 238; supplies 149, 237–8, 280, 281, 282, 296, 302–3
  • old age, quality of life in 18
  • olive oil 167, 169, 171
  • Olson, Ken 282
  • Omidyar, Pierre 99
  • onchoceriasis 310
  • open-source software 99, 272–3, 356
  • Orang Asli people 66
  • orang-utans 60, 239, 339
  • organic farming 147, 149–52, 393
  • Orinoco tar shales, Venezuela 238
  • Orma people 87
  • ornament, personal 43, 52, 53, 54, 70, 71, 73
  • O’Rourke, P.J. 157
  • Orwell, George 253, 290, 354
  • Ostia 174
  • otters 297, 299
  • Otto I, Holy Roman emperor 178
  • Ottoman empire 161
  • Oued Djebanna, Algeria 53
  • oxen 130, 136, 195, 197, 214–15
  • oxytocin (hormone) 94–5, 97–8
  • ozone layer 280, 296

 

  • Paarlberg, Robert 154
  • Pacific islanders 134
  • Pacific Ocean 184
  • Paddock, William and Paul 301
  • Padgett, John 103
  • Page, Larry 114
  • Pagel, Mark 73
  • Pakistan 142–3, 204, 300
  • palm oil 57–8, 239, 240, 242, 339
  • Pan Am (airline) 24
  • paper 282, 304
  • Papin, Denis 256
  • papyrus 171, 175
  • Paraguay 61
  • Pareto, Vilfredo 249
  • Paris 215, 358; electric lighting 233; restaurants 264
  • parrots 3
  • Parsons, Sir Charles 234
  • Parthian empire 161
  • Pasadena 17
  • Pataliputra 173
  • patents 223, 263, 264–6, 269, 271, 413–14
  • patriarchy 136
  • Paul, St 102
  • PayPal (e-commerce business) 262
  • peacocks 174
  • peanuts 126
  • peat 215–16
  • Peel, Sir Robert 185
  • Pemberton, John 263
  • pencils 38
  • penicillin 258
  • Pennington, Hugh 308
  • pensions 29, 40, 106
  • Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, The
    174
  • Persia 89, 161, 171, 177
  • Persian Gulf 66, 164, 340, 429
  • Peru 97–8, 126, 162–3, 320, 387; silver 31, 132, 183–4
  • pessimism: and belief in turning points in history 287–9, 301, 311; natural pessimism of human nature 294–5; in nineteenth century 283–8; in twentieth century 281, 282, 288–91, 292–4, 296–308, 328–9; in twenty-first century 8–9, 17, 28, 281–2, 291–2, 308–311, 314–15; ubiquity of 280–85, 291–2, 294–7, 341, 352
  • pesticides 151–2, 154, 155, 336; DDT 297–8, 299; natural 298–9
  • Peto, Richard 298
  • Petty, Sir William 185, 199, 254, 256
  • pharmaceutical industry 260, 266
  • philanthropy 92, 105, 106, 295, 318–19, 356
  • Philip II, King of Spain 30–31
  • Philip II of Macedon 171
  • Philippines 61–2, 89, 234
  • Philistines 166, 170, 396
  • Phillips, Adam 103, 292
  • Phoenicians 166–70, 177
  • photography 114, 283, 386
  • physiocrats 42
  • pi, calculation of 173
  • pig farming 135, 145, 148, 197
  • Pinnacle Point, South Africa 52, 83
  • Pisa 115, 178
  • plagues 135, 176, 195–6, 197; forecasts of 280, 284, 307–310;
    see also
    Black Death
  • plastics 237, 240, 270
  • Plate, River 186
  • platinum 213
  • Plato 292
  • Plautus 44
  • ploughing 129–30, 136, 145, 150, 195, 197, 198, 215
  • pneumonia 13, 353
  • Polanyi, Karl 164–5
  • polar bears 338–9
  • polio 261, 275, 310
  • political fragmentation 170–73, 180–81, 184, 185
  • pollution: effects on wildlife 17, 297, 299, 339; and industrialisation 218; pessimism about 293–4, 304–6; reduction in 17, 106, 148, 279, 293–4, 297, 299
  • polygamy 136
  • Pomeranz, Kenneth 201–2
  • Ponzi, Charles 29
  • Ponzi schemes 28–9
  • population control policies 202–4, 210–211
  • population growth: and food supply 139, 141, 143–4, 146–7, 192, 206, 208–9; global population totals 3, 12, 14, 191, 206, 332; and industrialisation 201–2; and innovation 252; pessimism about 190, 193, 202–3, 281, 290, 293, 300–302, 314; population explosions 8, 139, 141, 202, 206, 281; and specialisation 192–3, 351;
    see also
    birth rates; demographic transition; infant mortality; life expectancy
  • porcelain 181, 183, 184–5, 225, 251
  • Porritt, Jonathan 314
  • Portugal 75, 183, 184, 317, 331
  • Post-it notes 261
  • Postrel, Virginia 290–91
  • potatoes 199
  • Potrykus, Ingo 154
  • pottery 77, 158, 159, 163, 168, 177, 225, 251
  • Pound, Ezra 289
  • poverty: and charitable giving 106; current levels 12, 15, 16–17, 41, 316, 353–4; and industrialisation 217–20; pessimism about 280, 290, 314–15; reduction in 12, 15, 16–17, 290; and self-sufficiency 42, 132, 200, 202, 226–7; solutions to 8, 187–8, 316–17, 322, 326–8, 353–4
  • Prebisch, Raul 187
  • preservatives (in food) 145
  • Presley, Elvis 110
  • Priestley, Joseph 256
  • printing: on paper 181, 251, 252, 253, 272; on textiles 225, 232
  • prisoner’s dilemma game 96
  • property rights 130, 223, 226, 320, 321, 323–5
  • protectionism 186–7, 226
  • Ptolemy III 171
  • Pusu-Ken (Assyrian merchant) 165–6
  • putting out system 226, 227, 230
  • pygmy people 54, 67
  • Pythagoras 171

 

  • Quarterly Review
    284
  • quasars 275
  • Quesnay, François 42

 

  • racial segregation 108
  • racism 104, 415
  • radioactivity 293–4, 345
  • radios 264–5, 271
  • railways 252; and agriculture 139, 140–41; opposition to 283–4; speed of 283, 286; travel costs 23
  • rainforests 144, 149, 150, 240, 243, 250–51, 338
  • Rajan, Raghuram 317
  • Rajasthan 162, 164
  • Ramsay, Gordon 392
  • rape seed 240
  • Ratnagar, Shereen 162
  • ravens 69
  • Rawls, John 96
  • Read, Leonard 38
  • recession, economic 10, 28, 113, 311
  • reciprocity 57–9, 87, 95, 133
  • Red Sea 66, 82, 127, 170, 174, 177
  • Rees, Martin 294
  • Reformation 253
  • refrigeration 139
  • regress, technological 78–84, 125, 181–2, 197–200, 351, 380
  • Reiter, Paul 336, 428
  • religion 4, 104, 106, 170, 357, 358, 396; and population control 205, 207–8, 211;
    see also
    Buddhism; Christianity; Islam
  • Rembrandt 116
  • Renaissance 196
  • research and development budgets, corporate 260, 262, 269
  • Research in Motion (company) 265
  • respiratory disease 18, 307, 310
  • restaurants 17, 37, 61, 254, 264
  • Rhine, River 265–6
  • rhinoceroses 2, 43, 51, 68, 73
  • Rhodes, Cecil 322
  • Ricardo, David 75, 169, 187, 193, 196, 249, 274
  • rice 32, 126, 143, 146–7, 153, 154, 156, 198
  • Rifkin, Jeremy 306
  • Riis, Jacob 16
  • Rio de Janeiro, UN conference (1992) 290
  • risk aversion 294–5
  • Rivers, W.H.R. 81
  • Rivoli, Pietra 220, 228
  • ‘robber-barons’ 23–4, 100, 265–6
  • Rockefeller, John D. 23, 281
  • Rocky Mountains 238
  • Rogers, Alex 340
  • Roman empire 161, 166, 172, 173–5, 184, 214, 215, 259–60, 357
  • Rome 158, 175
  • Romer, Paul 269, 276–7, 328, 354
  • Roosevelt, Franklin D. 109
  • Roosevelt, Theodore 288
  • Rosling, Hans 368
  • Rothschild, Nathan 89
  • Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 43, 96, 104, 137
  • Royal Institution 221
  • rubber 220
  • rule of law 116–18, 325
  • Rumford, Benjamin Thompson, Count 221
  • rural to urban migration 158, 188–9, 210, 219–20, 226–7, 231, 406
  • Ruskin, John 104
  • Russia, post-Soviet 14; oil and gas production 31, 37; population decline 205
  • Russia, prehistoric 71, 73
  • Russia, Tsarist 216, 229, 324
  • Rwanda 14, 316
  • rye 124, 125, 199, 224, 286

 

  • Sachs, Jeffrey 208
  • Saddam Hussein 161
  • Sahel region 123, 334
  • Sahlins, Marshall 133, 135
  • Sahul (landmass) 66, 67
  • Salisbury, Wiltshire 194
  • Salk, Jonas 38, 261
  • salmon 297
  • Salmon, Cecil 142
  • saltpetre 140
  • Sanger, Frederick 412
  • Sanskrit 129
  • São Paulo 190, 315
  • Sargon of Akkad 164
  • SARS virus 307, 310
  • satellites 252, 253
  • satnav (satellite navigation systems) 268
  • Saudi Arabia 238
  • Saunders, Peter 102
  • Schumpeter, Joseph 113–14, 227, 260, 276, 302
  • science, and innovation 255–8, 412
  • Scientific American
    280
  • Scotland 103, 199–200, 227, 263, 315
  • scrub jays 87
  • scurvy 14, 258
  • sea level, changes in 128, 314, 333–4
  • Seabright, Paul 93, 138
  • seals (for denoting property) 130
  • search engines 245, 256, 267
  • Second World War 289
  • segregation, racial 108
  • Seine, River 215
  • self-sufficiency 8, 33–5, 39, 82, 90, 133, 192, 193, 351; and poverty 41–2, 132, 200, 202, 226–7
  • selfishness 86, 87, 93–4, 96, 102, 103, 104, 106, 292
  • Sematech (non-profit consortium) 267–8
  • Sentinelese people 67
  • serendipity 257, 346
  • serfs 181–2, 222
  • serotonin 156, 294
  • sexism 104, 136
  • sexual division of labour 61–5, 136, 376
  • sexual reproduction 2, 6, 7, 45, 56, 271; of ideas 6–7, 270–72
  • Sforza, house of 184
  • Shady, Ruth 162
  • Shakespeare, William 2;
    The Merchant of Venice
    101, 102
  • Shang dynasty 166
  • Shapiro, Carl 265
  • sheep 97, 176, 194, 197
  • Shell (corporation) 111
  • shellfish 52, 53, 62, 64, 79, 92, 93, 127, 163, 167
  • Shennan, Stephen 83, 133
  • Shermer, Michael 101, 106, 118
  • ship-building 185, 229;
    see also
    boat-building shipping, container 113, 253, 386
  • Shirky, Clay 356
  • Shiva, Vandana 156
  • Siberia 145
  • Sicily 171, 173, 178
  • Sidon 167, 170
  • Siemens, William 234
  • Sierra Leone 14, 316
  • Silesia 222
  • silicon chips 245, 263, 267–8
  • Silicon Valley 221–2, 224, 257, 258, 259, 268
  • silk 37, 46, 172, 175, 178, 179, 184, 187, 225
  • Silk Road 182
  • silver 31, 132, 164, 165, 167, 168, 169, 171, 177, 183–4, 213
  • Silver, Lee 122–3
  • Simon, Julian 83, 280, 303
  • Singapore 31, 160, 187
  • Skhul, Israel 53
  • slash-and-burn farming 87, 130
  • slave trade 167, 170, 177, 229, 319, 380; abolition 214, 221
  • slavery 34, 214–15, 216, 407; ancient Greece 171; hunter-gatherer societies 45, 92; Mesopotamia 160; Roman empire 174, 176, 214; United States 216, 228–9, 415;
    see also
    anti-slavery
  • sleeping sickness 310, 319
  • Slovakia 136
  • smallpox 13, 14, 135, 310; vaccine 221
  • smelting 131–2, 160, 230
  • smiling 2, 94
  • Smith, Adam 8, 80, 96, 101, 104, 199, 249, 272, 350;
    Das Adam Smith Problem
    93–4;
    Theory of Moral Sentiments
    93;
    The Wealth of Nations
    vii, 37–8, 39, 56, 57, 93, 123, 236, 283
  • Smith, Vernon 9, 90, 192
  • smoke, indoor 13, 338, 342, 353, 429
  • smoking 297, 298
  • Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act 186
  • soap 176, 215
  • social networking websites 262, 268, 356
  • socialism 106, 115, 357, 406
  • software, computer 99, 257, 272–3, 304, 356
  • solar energy 216, 243, 244
  • solar power 234–5, 238, 239, 245–6, 343, 344–5, 408
  • solar wind 346
  • solid-state electronics 257
  • Solomon, Robert 94
  • Solow, Robert 276
  • Somalia 14, 316, 337, 353
  • songbirds 55
  • Sony (corporation) 261
  • sorghum 126, 156
  • South Africa: agriculture 154; economy 316, 322; life expectancy 316; pre-historic 52, 53, 54, 83
  • South Korea 15, 31, 116–17, 187, 212, 322
  • South Sea Company 29
  • Southey, Robert 284–5
  • Soviet Union 16, 107, 109, 289, 299, 318, 324
  • soybeans 147, 148, 155, 156, 242
  • space travel 268–9, 275, 282
  • Spain: agriculture 129; climate 334; Franco regime 186, 289; Peruvian silver 30–31, 183–4; tariffs 222
  • spears 6, 43, 48, 50, 52, 70, 80, 81, 91
  • specialisation: by sex 61–5, 136, 376; and division of labour 7, 33, 38, 46, 61–5, 175; and exchange 7, 10, 33, 35, 37–8, 46, 56, 58, 75, 90, 132–3, 350–52, 355, 358–9; and innovation 56, 71–2, 73–4, 76–7, 119, 251; and population growth 192–3, 351; and rule of law 116, 117–18
  • speech 2, 55;
    see also
    language
  • Spencer, Herbert 108
  • Spengler, Oswald 289
  • sperm counts 280, 293, 329
  • spice trade 167, 175, 176, 177, 179, 185
  • Spinoza, Baruch de 116
  • Sputnik 282
  • squashes (vegetables) 126, 163
  • Sri Lanka 35, 38, 66, 205, 208, 299
  • Stalin, Joseph 16, 262
  • stamp seals 130
  • Stangler, Dane 294
  • steam engines 126, 214, 221, 228, 231–2, 244, 256, 258, 270, 271, 413–14
  • steamships 139, 253, 283
  • Stein, Gil 159
  • Stein, Herb 281
  • stem-cell research 358
  • Stephenson, George 256, 412
  • Steptoe, Patrick 306
  • sterilisation, coerced 203–4
  • Stern
    (magazine) 304
  • Stern, Nicholas, Baron 330–31, 332, 425
  • Stiner, Mary 64, 69
  • storms 314, 333, 335
  • Strabo 174
  • string 70
  • strokes (cerebral accidents) 18
  • Strong, Maurice 311
  • Subramanian, Arvind 317
  • subsidies: farming 188, 328; renewable energy supplies 344
  • subsistence farming 87, 138, 175–6, 189, 192, 199–200
  • substantivism 164–5
  • suburbia 108, 110, 190
  • Sudan 316
  • suffrage, universal 107
  • sugar 179, 202, 215
  • sugar beet 243
  • sugar cane 240, 241, 242
  • Sun Microsystems (corporation) 259
  • Sunda (landmass) 66
  • sunflowers 126
  • Sungir, Russia 71, 73
  • superconductivity, high-temperature 257
  • Superior, Lake 131
  • supermarkets 36, 112, 148, 268, 292, 297
  • surfboards 273
  • Sussex 285
  • Swan, Sir Joseph 234, 272
  • Swaziland 14
  • Sweden 17, 184, 229, 305, 340, 344
  • Swift, Jonathan 121, 240
  • Switzerland 264
  • swords, Japanese 198–9
  • Sybaris 170–71
  • symbiosis 75, 351
  • synergy 6, 101
  • Syria 124, 130, 164, 174
  • Szilard, Leo 412
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