59. As per the philosophy of Absurdism, there is an idea that ‘if you have to die one day, then what is the purpose of planning for life?’

A philosopher is one who is a realist. Philosophies such as these are not realistic. Whatever a person plans and leaves behind is passed on to next generations, and this is the crux of social development. Such development is slow and gradual in nature. Seldom does the person behind a change or revolution gets to see its effect. Inventors, architects and other pioneers in history who have contributed largely with their work died without getting to see how greatly mankind has benefited from them. Had they thought along the lines of the philosophy of Absurdism, they would have made no sincere effort in their fields and the human civilization would have never progressed. Social development requires assiduous planning. For instance, the modern civilization has developed in four hundred years!

People have gone to great lengths to work on the aircraft. Many have even lost their lives. Despite all their work and research, the Wright brothers once expressed: ‘No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris.’ Today, airplanes fly and glide all around the world, all thanks to the contribution made in the beginning by the Wright brothers. However, the Wright brothers never got to see this day. Had they acted on the philosophy of Absurdism and not worked on the flying machine, the world today would have been unimaginable.

If Rockefeller would have thought about the disadvantages he had, America would have been deprived of some great institutions. America relentlessly did phenomenal work in the field of research which cost it billions of dollars, although every time research does not yield an immediate outcome. The price of development and planning is future progress.