Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of

The words of Ben Okri — “Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible” — shimmer with the fire of paradox, for in them he divides the realm of compromise from the realm of vision. Politics, he tells us, is bound by what can be done within the limits of the present: the balance of power, the weight of law, the bargaining of factions. It is the domain of the possible, where dreams are clipped to fit the narrow corridors of reality. Yet creativity knows no such chains; it dares to soar into the realm of the impossible, shaping visions no ruler or council could yet imagine.

This truth echoes the struggle of every age. Politics preserves, manages, and restrains; it asks, “What can we achieve within these boundaries?” But creativity breaks boundaries, whispering of futures unseen, daring to plant seeds that seem absurd until they bloom. Okri reminds us that civilization advances not only by those who keep the world stable, but also by those who dare to dream beyond its limits. The possible maintains; the impossible transforms.

History offers shining proof. When Galileo turned his telescope to the heavens, his vision was impossible to the politics of his time, which clung to earth-centered certainties. Yet his creativity shattered those walls, and what was once heresy became truth. Centuries later, when Nelson Mandela dreamed of a South Africa free of apartheid, it was deemed impossible by politicians who accepted only cautious compromise. But through vision, sacrifice, and courage, what was once unthinkable became reality, lifting a nation.

Okri’s words remind us that the politician and the creator serve different yet vital roles. Without politics, society collapses into chaos, but without creativity, society ossifies into stagnation. The politician’s art is to work with what is; the creator’s art is to imagine what might be. The two are in tension, yet also in dialogue — for often, what is first dreamed by the artist becomes, in time, the work of the statesman.

Let future generations remember this wisdom: do not scorn the possible, for it is the ground upon which we stand, but do not cease to strive for the impossible, for it is the horizon toward which we must walk. Politics maintains the present, but creativity summons the future. In this balance lies the story of mankind, forever torn between the limits of today and the visions of tomorrow.