Moral idealism is the belief that one should always do the right thing, even if it's against one's self-interest. It also entails the existence of objective moral values, such as love, truth and justice. Moral idealism has existed in human culture at least since the Axial Age, when sages such as Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato taught idealistic morality and self-control. Christian moral theology also teaches high moral ideals, even though the concept of original sin makes it doubtful if humans can truly act idealistically in this fallen world. In Chinese thought, Confucianism is close to moral idealism, as it believes in ruling through moral example rather than coercion.
During the Renaissance and Enlightenment numerous social utopians like Thomas Morus have proposed societies based on moral idealism, culminating in early Industrial Age with the concept of utopian socialism. Later visionaries like Olaf Stapledon and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky presented visions of perfected societies of the future, anticipating higher levels of evolution. These visions are yet to be realized, and many people consider them implausible due to evil inherent in human nature. However, moral idealism does not equal the common understanding of idealism as belief in inherent goodness of human nature, and more sophisticated moral idealists admit the tragic contrast between reality and ideals.
In foreign policy, moral idealism has been influential primarily in the United States since the era of Woodrow Wilson, and his approach has later became a part of neoconservatism.
Moral idealism is typically contrasted with moral realism.