There are two distinct forms of idealism, both of which I consider to be practical and useful. The first is almost a psychological position. I am an anarchist, but I never expect to see a perfectly voluntary society — that is, one without crime and violence — just as I never expect to be in perfect health. Yet I advocate society by contract just as I take vitamins every day, because I want to get as close as possible to both ideals. In short, the only way I can approximate this ideal is to hold it firmly in front of me as a standard against which to measure the world. In this sense, an ideal is like true North on a compass, and it serves a valuable function whether or not true North (the ideal) can be reached. This is the form of ideal embodied in the wording “things as they…should be.”