Translation of North Ameria -- Issue186

186."Practicality is now our great idol, which all powers and talents must serve. Anything that is not obviously practical has little value in today's world."
(699 words)
Is the practicality our great idol, which all powers and talents must serve? The proposition is greatly valuable with respect to most realms of human endeavor -- including education, art and politics. I take exception with the claim when it comes to the direction of the scientific research today. Practicality seems to be the litmus test for today's education. Elementary school students learn how to use the computer right along with the skill of reading and writing. Both our junior and senior middle schools are cutting the courses on art, which ostensibly has less value than other lessons. In addition, more and more undergradutes choose to major in technical fields for the purpose of securing lucrative jobs immediately after university. It can't be denied that many university students still advance to graduate-level study, yet the MBA is the most popular such dgree. After all, business administration is ultimately about practicality and pragmatism -- that is, to "fulfill the job" and to pay attention to the "bottomline".Today, what kind of art is produced is also dominated by practicality. Most new architectures today are affected by the functionality, security and cost, there are few architectural masterpieces find their way past the blueprint stage, if any. Moreover, the content of story films and music is totally controled by demographic considerations -- that is, by catering to the interests of 18 to 35 year olds, who account for most movie tickets and music CD sales. Meanwhile, the prior thing today's publishing industry should think of, is to deliver viable products to the marketplace. Our bookshells are filled with glut of "how to" books, which is the evidence that the publishers are pandering to our practicality as well. It isn't that artists today are not no longer creating perfect works in the nature of great artistic value. Self-contained record companys, moviemakers and presses abound today, but they are not booming, and they constitute a minuscule segment of the market. The property developers, tycoons in entertainment and publishing field only concern practicality of the products and profit they can create, not their artistic value and integrity.Practicality is also the overriding concern in contemporary politics. Most politicians seem propeled by the interest in being elected and reelected, rather than by any sense of mission, even sense of responsibility for the voters and country. The tactics and negotiation in diplomacy and legislation usually often appear intended to satisfy the relevant people -- minimizing costs, preserving options, and so forth. Those who would defend the author may claim that the people who mobilize the masses, agitate revolutions, and make political ideolody reality are idealists, not pragmatists. Consider such idealists as the founders of the United States, or Mahatma Gandhi, or Martin Luther King. Has these idealists only concerned themselves with short-term survival and immediate needs, rather than with their notions of utopia, the America and India may still be the colonies of Great Britain, and African Americans may still be relegated to the back row of buses. Though I concede this point, the plain fact is that such idealists are far fewer in number today. On the other hand, this claim amounts to an overstatement when it comes to the scientific research. The most popular surgery in medicine is cosmetic operation, this procedure strikes me as highly impractical, given the health risk and expense involved. Admittedly, the digital revolution today serves many pragmatic concerns, such as communicating and accessing information more quickly and efficiently. Much research on chemistry aimed at practicality -- to give us more convenience and make our life more comfortable. However, in other aspects, scientific research isn't driven by immidiate pragmatism, but rather toward broad and long-term objectives, such as the research on public sanitation, quality of life and environmental conservation.In sum, practicality may be our great idol in the realms of education, arts and politics. But I find that this version to be unfair generalization with respect to science. Finally, I query whether the claim begs the question. Above all, practicality doesn't merely mean the immediate needs, it also includes the long-term planning and prevention aimed at ensuring the quality of our future life, and our very survival as a species.