Two Types of Idealism


In moments of idealism, we often find ourselves wishing for a simpler/better/less-evil’er world. Or hear others say something similar and smirk. While in some cases, it is definitely a possibility, in others, it is good to step back and think of the practicality of what is being hoped for.

The first kind is worth wishing for: If you wish for a cleaner alternative to, say, fossil fuels, it could happen. While difficult, no law of physics prevents such a technology from being developed. Even being cheaper than existing fuels eventually. It could happen. If not today, maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. But not impossible.

The other kind of wishful thinking is what does deserve a smirk. The kind where people hope for things that would violate the laws of physics: like hoping for a perpetual motion machine to “fix” the energy problem. Or the kind, and this is more common among idealists, wishing for things like world peace. These are cases where hope is based on human nature changing not just for a few individuals, but for all humanity!

I read this interesting tale of how Japan, having discovered guns, decided to turn its back on them. And boy, did they pay the price for trying unilateral disarmament! Japan discovered guns when the Portuguese invaded in 1453. Soon the Japanese quickly learnt to make guns themselves. Then, after the Portuguese left, they found that their Samurai culture was at threat! Because any peasant with a gun could kill the best Samurai. This was a huge threat to the Samurai class: how could the warrior class lose to random “civilians”? And so the Japanese banned guns altogether. Thinking along the same lines, the Japanese also banned foreigners and forbade Japanese from going abroad: why risk more such technologies entering and disrupting their nation, or so they thought.

And so they got the shock of their lives in 1853 when American warships arrived in Tokyo Bay and fired their cannons. Firepower had improved by leaps and bounds, while Japan had turned its back on them. And the rest is history.

Sometimes (we just have to face it) the genie is out of the bottle. That Pandora’s box has been opened. That the forbidden fruit has been tasted. That there is no turning back. Idealists should be careful what they wish for…

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