Making Light: Gasp, wheeze, cough:

I have always suspected that this attitude (which I have run into all too often) is a sign of an romantic attachment to some ideal position, which is attractive because at some level it is seen as unattainable. If the objective actually could be reached, one might actually be obliged to actually take the risk of real success or failure in attempting to get there. Instead of that, one can avoid any responsibliity for either how things are, or for trying to improve them.

tnh and claude muncey talk about "things have to get worse before they can get better".