Ross Gittins discusses a book by Matt Ridley called The Origins of Virtue. In it he shows that “trade predates the state.” Hardly a surprise to readers of this blog, but quite radical for the mainstream media. (Thanks to John Zube for bringing this article to my attention.) I have not yet read the Ridley book, but an Amazon.com review by Donald J. Boudreaux calls it “one of the finest challenges to Thomas Hobbes yet written.” Are there any blog readers who have read the book?