Sheryll Stothard has done us all a great service by her admirable recital of the life and times of Hishamuddin Rais. But I was somewhat surprised by her declaration that she "could not afford the naivete of hero-worship and idealism" (See 'Adventures of a trendy rebel: Part 3').

If she merely means that idealism can lead to naivete about what can be immediately achieved and a misconception that the world can be reformed overnight, then I'm in complete agreement with her. But if she means to say that it is naive to be idealistic, then I think she's much mistaken.

To be idealistic is to refuse ever to accept the brutish, sordid, selfish circumstances of life which many people, lacking the energy or inclination to do otherwise, simply put up with. They then try to dignify their state of pliant acceptance by claiming that it is consistent with the dictates of 'reality'. (And they will hasten to warn you that 'reality' can be a vengeful god if crossed!) It is a source of great irritation to them that idealistic people can't seem to get on with their lives without making such an ugly fuss and distracting them from their pleasant state of slumber.

True idealism cannot exist without what Carlyle described as a "deep, great, genuine sincerity", the sort of sincerity that can be sensed like a thing of pure energy in Jesus, Jeanne D'Arc, Gandhi and such-like persons. But idealism is not confined merely to those who heroically struggle against oppression or who believe in the perfectibility of the world and seek to realise that vision.

Thus, in poesy, the idealism of that "divine boy", Keats, is in no way different in nature or inferior in intensity to that of the Maid of Orleans. (I don't speak here of idealisation in the treatment of art, but of the idealism that animates the artist.)

Keats' is a personal idealism, manifested by his hungering search for meaning and inspired by what Wilde would have called his "passionate humanity". We are awe-struck as we follow him in his astonishing journey, from his brilliant insights on "negative capability" and the "vale of soul-making" to the sheer perfection of To Autumn . Similarly, in seeking to materialise the Kingdom of God upon this earth, we witness the idealism of Mother Theresa, who loved the poor, the wretched and the outcast.

Of course, idealism can at times lead to dreadful consequences; the goose-stepping madness of the first half of the last century was itself the handiwork of idealistic men who, ravaged by hatred and hubris, lost their reason and perpetrated acts of unbelievable wickedness.

But the idealism which moves good men and women, which is free from the distortions of pride and ambition, is so great a thing that the brilliance of their example can generate hope and love in all the world.

For a species that began its long history as grunting cavemen, to have produced Mother Theresa and John Keats is no mean achievement. These idealistic people, Ms Stothard included, are our greatest achievement.