History
The nirvana fallacy was given its name by economist Harold Demsetz in 1969, who said:
The view that now pervades much public policy economics implicitly presents the relevant choice as between an ideal norm and an existing 'imperfect' institutional arrangement. This nirvana approach differs considerably from a comparative institution approach in which the relevant choice is between alternative real institutional arrangements.
A related quotation from Voltaire is:
- Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien
often translated as:
- The perfect is the enemy of the good
though it is better rendered as:
- Leave well alone or Leave well enough alone
from "La Bégueule" (1772).
Read more about this topic: Nirvana Fallacy
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