| dc.description.abstract | In academic as well as in public debate, there is much discussion on whether or not a focus on ideals is fruitful for making a change in society, especially in regards to policymaking. Ideals can be valuable on a personal, as well as a societal level, but they can also be perceived as naive and unrealistic. In political philosophy, this debate mainly centers around two kinds of theories: ideal theory and non-ideal theory. Both of these theories consider ideals to be useful, but non-ideal theory also acknowledges the importance of a realistic perspective on the world when designing policy. This is important for effective policymaking. One way of getting this realistic perspective is by looking at how feasible a policy is. There are different kinds of feasibility constraints that can help with that, divided into soft and hard constraints. Important is to look further than a black and white view on the feasibility of a policy: a constant weighing between the ideal and reality is necessary for getting to the best possible result. A concrete example of this process can be found when looking at climate change. | |
