I think many of the worst movements in history have been born out of the minds of people who believed in perfectionism — scientists, politicians, and others who thought that we could straighten things out, once and for all. And this is an incredibly dangerous philosophy of life. The perfectionists amongst us are those who very often ruin and wreck the world. And true human progress is often the work of people who are much more modest, who accept their own flaws and the flaws of others, and are not attempting to make a paradise on earth.

From: Do Humankind’s Best Days Lie Ahead? The Munk Debates
By: Alain de Botton   Malcolm Gladwell   Matt Ridley   Steven Pinker