---
title: Nirvana Fallacy
tags:
  - status/draft
  - type/encyclopedia-entry
up: "[[fallacy]]"
---
# Nirvana Fallacy

The [nirvana fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy),
also called the "perfect solution fallacy",
is the mistake made when a solution proposed to replace one existing
is judged against a hypothetical perfect solution
rather than the solution in current use.

> [!quote] [[demsetz_1969_information|Demsetz (1969)]]
> The view that now pervades much public policy economics
> implicitly presents the relevant choice
> as between an ideal norm and an existing "imperfect" institutional arrangement.
> This _nirvana_ approach differs considerably
> from a _comparative institution_ approach
> in which the relevant choice is between alternative real institutional arrangements.
