# Multimedia 

Multimedia 

---

- [Podcasts](/podcasts)
- [Cato Video](/multimedia/cato-video)
- [Video Series](/search/category/video-series)
- [Events](/multimedia/events)

Download:

[ 

Video 

](https://fastly-unsigned-us-east-1-prod.brightcovecdn.com/media/v1/pmp4/static/clear/6039378657001/1cd70290-abd3-4f03-a293-9a4f01acd55d/1d87b959-cfb4-46a7-b52d-c0e466a975b5/main.mp4) 

[ 

Video 

](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2011/cwv-01-14-11.mp4) 

Cato Video • January 13, 2011 

# Matt Ridley discusses rational optimism. 

Our economy is hurting, and many see environmental degradation as a looming threat. Unfortunately, the proposed solutions for getting humanity back on track are, in fact, rejections of the very factors that guided us from the poverty of our ancestors to the prosperity of today. That’s the claim of Matt Ridley, author of *The Rational Optimist*. He spoke at the Cato Institute May 20, 2010. 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

##### Featuring 

##### Matt Ridley 

Author, *Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19*