“Where idealism and realism meet is where there is the greatest evolutionary tension. » Idealism prioritizes ideals, social reforms, and morals, wanting to benefit not only yourself, but also the world around you, believing that people are generally good. On the contrary, realism prioritizes national interest and security with an emphasis on promoting one's own power and influence under the assumption that people are self-centered by nature. Based on the definitions stated above, idealism and realism are very different from each other and their divergence of thought is most evident when various proponents of each, such as Woodrow Wilson, Henry Lodge, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, have varied views on comparable issues. in politics. Therefore, an idealist's reaction to a particular issue would be very different from that of a realist. Therefore, idealism deals with normative ideas and helps improve the progress of not only a single state, but the entire world, while realism focuses only on the benefits of one's own nation. To begin with, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, is one of the most influential and well-known idealists in history. He is recognized as an idealist because of his admirable ambitions and his pursuit of excellence. He played a major role after World War I, when he introduced his Fourteen Points. The Fourteen Points were meant to bring peace to the world and ensure that another tragic war like the Great War would never happen again. His fourteen point speech is a perfect example of idealism because in his speech Wilson talked about free trade, self-determination, disarmament, freedom of the seas, and the most important part of the speech was the League of Nations ...... middle of paper ......racy, 2008, BarackObama.com.• MacAskill, Ewen. "Barack Obama ends Iraq war. 'Now is the time to turn the page' | World News | The Guardian." Latest news, sport and commentary from the Guardian | The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, September 1, 2010. Web. November 18, 2011. • Fedman, David. “Rethinking Asia: “Smart Power” and US-China Policy. » The Olive and the Arrow. The Word Press, March 8, 2009. Web. November 18, 2011. .• Dimitter, Lowell. World politics. 1st ed. Flight. 55. New York: Johns Hopkins UP, 2002. 38-65. • Flannagan, Michael. “Foreign policy is better with Obama than with Bush” The Lantern - Ohio State University. College Publisher Network, October 25, 2011. Web. November 17. 2011. .