Uncompromising reformers harm the poor by preventing partial reforms

Evidence

Smith had no patience for those who didn’t understand those reasons. He had no patience for reformers who, unlike Belle Moskowitz, didn’t understand the importance of practical politics in getting things done, who refused to compromise, who insisted on having the bill as it was written, who raged loudly at injustice, who fought single-mindedly for an unattainable ideal. Their pigheadedness had the effect of dragging to political destruction politicians who listened to them, of ruining careers men had taken years to build. He had seen it happen. And, more important, what was the inevitable result of their efforts? Since they refused to compromise and operate within the political framework—the only framework within which their proposals could become reality—the laws they proposed were never enacted, and therefore at the end of their efforts the people they had wanted to help, the people who he knew so well needed help, hadn’t been helped at all. If anything, they had been hurt; the stirring up of hard feelings and bitterness delayed less dramatic but still useful reforms that might have been enacted. When the reformers were finished with all their hollering and were back in their comfortable homes, the widows of the Fourth Ward would still be forced to give up their children before they could get charity. What good was courage if its only effect was to hurt those you were trying to help? — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 572

Categorization

• APHORISMS: A genuinely reusable political wisdom — the question ‘what good is courage if its only effect is to hurt those you are trying to help’ is a durable frame for weighing purity against results.
• XREF: Foreshadows the entire Moses arc — the idealist ‘Goo Goo’ who becomes the master power broker; also echoes the classic reformer-vs-machine tension. Contrasts with themes in A Midwife’s Tale about how moral absolutism operates within constrained historical settings. — connects to: Sheltering wrongdoers from consequences prevents reform and preserves harmful structures — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1564; Harmful policies gain moral cover when linked to revered reformers — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 399; Early American education reformers aimed to pacify the poor rather than end poverty — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America:…, 371 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Early American education reformers aimed to pacify the poor rather than end poverty #exemplifies (0.85) — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 371
• Convincing arguments fail when reform lacks power behind it #corroborates (0.85) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 375
• Early education reformers aimed to defuse class conflict without redistributing wealth #exemplifies (0.82)
• Society aids the poor to neutralize a threat, not to help them #exemplifies (0.80) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 410
• Sheltering wrongdoers from consequences prevents reform and preserves harmful structures #expands (0.78) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1564
• Reformists seeking to prevent revolution inadvertently provoked further worker radicalism #expands (0.78) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 334
• Harmful policies gain moral cover when linked to revered reformers #expands (0.75) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 399
• Tradeoffs, though inevitable, need not be accepted unregretted or beyond reform #qualifies (0.72) — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere, 666
• Reform-minded dissent within a system strengthens rather than threatens it #expands (0.70)