Realism vs Idealism

The world is not a perfect place. Much of the conflict in the world today is because of two contradicting ideas: realism and idealism. The realist approach is the oldest and most dominant approach in the world. It was founded by an English philosopher by the name of Thomas Hobbes. His book Leviathan (1651) set the agenda for nearly all subsequent Western political philosophy. The idealist approach was founded by another English philosopher named John Locke. Locke's ideas were greatly influential to the world and many nation-states, including the United States, as reflected in the Constitution of the United States and the Deceleration of Independence (1776). For a very long time, the conflicts around the world evolved primarily because of the two contradicting approaches: realism and idealism.

The realist approach stresses that the primary characteristics of a man's human nature are pessimistic, selfish, competitive, and evil. According to the realist approach, the world is divided into nation-states, and each nation-state wants to advance and protect its interests. The realist approach focuses on Charles Darwin's theory of "Survival of the Fittest." This theory applies to the realist approach because every nation-state wants to pursue its own goals and gain power, which introduces the idea of sovereignty. Sovereignty basically means that each nation-state is self-governing and recognized by every other nation-state in the world. If a nation-state is sovereign, the nation-state has total control of itself within its borders, and no one has more power than the people and the government of that nation-state.

The idealist approach is quite the opposite of the realist approach. According to the idealist approach, the primary characteristics of a man's human nature are optimistic, selfless, cooperative, and good. Unlike Thomas Hobbes, John Locke believed that human nature is characterized by reason and tolerance. The idealist approach rejects the view that nation-states have to compete in order to succeed. It disagrees with the idea of zero-sum politics, where there is always one winner and one looser. The idealist school's principal ideology is transnationalism. It is an ideology in which one's primary political loyalty is not to the nation or nation-state, but to the whole world. Transnationalism tends to undermine nationalism, and by extension the state. For example, citizens of France who are also citizens of the European Union might identify themselves as Europeans, instead of French.

I think one should be neither pure realist or pure idealist. You have to find the perfect balance between these two ideologies that represents you in a way that makes you feel more connected with your inner-self and the society.