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ISSUE 99 In any realm of life--whether academic, social, business, or political--the only way to succeed is to take a practical, rather than an idealistic, point of view. Pragmatic behavior guarantees survival, whereas idealistic views tend to be superceded by simpler, more immediate options. 提纲 开头 1 pragmatism在如今这个物质社会很重要 2 undue pragmatic而放弃idealistic有危害 3 idealistic 提供动力和追求,也很重要 结尾 总结,并提出应该在二者之间求平衡
There is no denying that pragmatism is a practical and effective attitude in this increasing materialistic society, but total rejection of idealism is not an advisable idea since idealism provides direction and passion to create new innovations and long-term success. In addition, the classification between pragmatism and idealism is a false dichotomy, and the pursuit of balance between them is the real key to success. To begin with, it is necessary for people to hold a practical attitude in real world in order to survive and prosper, especially in our competitive and rapidly changing materialistic society. Pragmatism takes practical consequences and other environmental factors into consideration to form the ultimate determination. Take business for example, when a company is inclined to produce certain products, the managers should firstly conduct a deep and broad market survey about the preference and demand of consumers, instead of blindly producing what they dream about. In addition, the relevant data and information about government policies, economics conditions and the cost of raw material also carry great importance and should be analyzed before production. No business can succeed without these considerations. The goals of a typical business are to maximize its profits and compete against other firms for market shares. For that matter, a business must take practical actions to produce what consumers really need, policies support and economic conditions permit. Without pragmatism, many objectives would not be successfully achieved. It should be admitted that people live in a real world, rather than an idealistic ivory tower. That is why scientists should delve into research that will lead to the improvement of the quality of life instead of fantasy about building a time machine. Similarly, sociologists and political figures should endeavor to resolve real social problems rather than assuming an ideal and perfect society that do not exist. Pragmatism guarantees normal function of the world and the survival of many professions.
Notwithstanding the great importance of pragmatism, undue practical viewpoints may generate negative consequences. Besides, idealistic attitude should not be totally ignored because it is significant for long-term success. A company which aims to make great benefits is beyond reproach, but what if it produces pornographic videos for children just to cater their needs? Or what if it use inferior even unhealthy raw materials to produce goods in order to reduce cost? A company which violates business morality or social ethics may get temporary profits but can never accomplish long-term prosperity. Pragmatism tend to focus on “doing what we can”, while idealistic view holders always ask themselves whether it is right to do so. Idealism means that people should adopt morale principles, even if this behavior does not appear beneficial. Idealism also provides necessary impetus for outstanding breakthrough in many realms of life. A good example is Wright brothers, who invented and built the world’s first successful airplane. During their long process of trial and error, their planes ware once regarded as a useless toy, and their attempting to create a flying thing receives nothing but critics and satire. But it is their ideal dream to fly, in other words, a spirit of idealism, that lead them to final success. Without idealistic attitudes, the society would probably function normally but stand little chances to change and improve. History bounds with countless artists, such as Van Gogh, Beethoven, who stuck to their idealistic goals despite the strait life conditions and miserable reality. It is the idealistic pursuits of those preeminent history figures that made tremendous contributions to human history and the whole world.
In conclusion, pragmatic and idealistic viewpoints are not mutually exclusive, and the opposition of pragmatism and idealism will lead nowhere. Idealistic spirit provides passion and moral pursuit, and pragmatic attitude offers feasible solutions and measures. People should work to strike a balance between them. |