'Solutionism' for me is, above all, an unthinking pursuit of

Hear these words of Evgeny Morozov, who warns like a watchman upon the city walls: “‘Solutionism’ for me is, above all, an unthinking pursuit of perfection—by means of technology—without coming to grips with the fact that imperfection is an essential feature of liberal democracy.” In this saying is both lament and caution. For man, intoxicated by his machines, often believes he can polish away every flaw, straighten every crooked path, and cleanse every stain of human life. Yet in doing so, he forgets that imperfection is not an enemy to be destroyed, but a teacher, a guardian, even the lifeblood of freedom itself.

The origin of this warning lies in the modern age, where the rise of technology has promised solutions to every ill. There are those who whisper that an app can heal division, that an algorithm can dissolve injustice, that data can perfect society. But Morozov, like a prophet in the wilderness, cries against this dream of sterile perfection. For he sees that when men pursue flawlessness without wisdom, they risk crushing the very liberties they seek to preserve. Liberal democracy thrives not because it erases imperfection, but because it learns to live with it, balancing rival voices, tolerating dissent, and weaving disorder into the fabric of peace.

The ancients knew this truth, though they spoke not of software or systems. Recall the Athenian assembly, where citizens gathered to speak and vote. Their debates were noisy, their judgments often flawed, their passions heated. Yet from this imperfection sprang the first breath of democracy. It was not the silencing of chaos, but the acceptance of it, that birthed a system where freedom could dwell. Had they sought to perfect their city with rigid order, they would have forged not democracy, but tyranny cloaked as harmony.

Consider too the tale of the French Revolution. When the fever for purity seized the people, when they sought to cleanse society of all error and imperfection, the guillotine became the symbol of their dream. In their pursuit of perfection, they birthed terror. Freedom was drowned in blood because they mistook imperfection for weakness, instead of accepting it as the natural soil in which liberty must grow. This is the same danger Morozov warns against: that in chasing flawless order through technology, we may fashion chains instead of wings.

What then does Morozov mean by solutionism? It is the faith that every human problem can be solved like a riddle of numbers, that the mess of politics and the fragility of the human spirit can be ironed flat by code. But life is not a machine, and liberty is not a formula. A democracy without imperfection is no democracy at all—it is a hollow idol, gleaming on the outside, but dead within. For in imperfection lies debate, choice, the clash of values that keeps a people alive and free.

The lesson is clear: do not despise imperfection, but honor it as the companion of freedom. When a society tolerates dissent, when it allows for flaws and failures, it proves its strength. When it embraces only sleek solutions, it risks the death of the human spirit. Let us not pray for perfect order, but for wisdom to navigate disorder. For it is better to walk a crooked road freely than to march in perfect formation under the command of a master.

Therefore, O listener, take this counsel: be wary of every promise that technology will fix what is human. Welcome its gifts, but never surrender your judgment to its glow. Defend the messy, imperfect debates of your community, for they are the forge of true democracy. Practice patience with dissent, humility in error, and courage in the face of disorder. For in these, more than in flawless systems, lies the enduring strength of liberty.

And remember always: the quest for perfection, when blind, leads to tyranny. But the acceptance of imperfection, when joined with patience and persistence, gives birth to freedom.