I believe in imperfection

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a part of the continent, a part of the man.”

-John Donne

Perfection is an enticing pay-off, which we as humans always hope, and strive to work for. Nevertheless, a not-so-very profound observation will be enough to tell us that practically, perfection is something that cannot be achieved at all. To some, my words would seem dejecting and discouraging, but a pragmatist might be able to relate with what I say.

Therefore, if we hope for a perfect society, or a perfect, corruption-free country, it will bring us nothing but disappointment. However, as artists, we have the liberty to venture out from practicality, and talk of a theoretical society, that acts for us as an ideal situation by exemplifying perfection itself!

In such a society, or to put it more aptly, in an artist’s impression of such a perfect society, humanity is no longer humanity as we know it. People are indistinguishable from machines. That is because, in the pursuit of the so-called ‘distilled society’, we are mere clones of each other. Everyone works on a predefined protocol and our actions are cold and calculated. An individual’s specified work-field solely decides their personality. ‘To each his own’ is the mantra with which people live and die by.

I might be able to express myself better with the universal example of an anthill. Ants dwell in a perfectly synchronized milieu, with each individual containing only fragmented intelligence of the whole society. If we take up a single ant specimen, we will find its intelligence to be subpar and its actions, mechanical. However, an anthill as a whole acts as an individual too. It works, grows, excretes, and even shelters itself. This tells us that even though a unit of the anthill, that is, the ant, has no understanding of the ‘bigger picture’, it does constitute to the overall intelligence of the anthill.

If there is to be a perfect human society, chances are that it will resemble an anthill. The society will work, not individuals. People will be merely a tool, and the society will build itself. There will be no space for emotions, relations, and individual greatness or heroics. Just plain society. My question is, are we ready for this kind of perfection? Don’t you think some things are best left imperfect?