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Arts & Books Magazine Books & literature Intellectuals & ideas margaret thatcher Roger Scruton

How full is the glass?

Two “state we’re in” analyses by a pessimistic philosopher and an optimistic scientist are best taken with a tot of scepticism

By Simon Blackburn  
August 25, 2010
September 2010

The Uses of Pessimism and the Danger of False Hope by Roger Scruton (Atlantic, £15.99)

The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley (4th Estate, £20)

The contrast between the titles of these books is a little misleading, since they have a great deal in common. Each of them could have been read with pleasure by Margaret Thatcher, whom Scruton admired, and in whose government Matt Ridley’s uncle—Nicholas Ridley, the minister of state responsible for the Falkland Islands—played such a prominent role. Scruton’s book, as befits that of a philosopher, is more nuanced, more profound, and is in many…

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Simon Blackburn

Simon Blackburn is a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge and a Research Professor in philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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