Nirvana fallacy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Nirvana fallacy is the logical error of comparing actual things with their idealized counterparts. For example:

"The laws in country X would provide a better standard of living than is available to the citizens of country Y."

The above statement may be true, but if the laws of country X are not enforced, there is no guarantee that the standard of living there will be any better than that of country Y.

It can also refer to the tendency to assume that there is a perfect solution to a particular problem (often of a social nature). For example:

"In America, there are millions of impoverished individuals and much violence in urban areas. If we would only take more money from rich minorities and give it to the poor, we could eradicate poverty completely and live in harmony with one another."

The above statement makes the erroneous assumption that such a condition is possible. By creating a false dichotomy (we can live either with poverty and violence or in complete harmony) that presents one choice which is obviously advantageous - while at the same time being completely implausible - a person making the above argument can attack any opposing idea (reformed social welfare programs, for example) because it is imperfect. The choice is not between an impoverished, violent society and utopia; it is, rather, a choice between an impoverished, violent society and one which is merely better, not perfect.

Politicians often commit this fallacy when referring to their desire to "eliminate" terrorism, poverty, and other social ills.