Nationalism and Idealism

Idealism and nationalism were tied throughout the history of Europe in several ways in the mid-1800s - there was a clear divide between the more idealistic and more pragmatic rulers and revolutionaries, with the more pragmatic almost always being more effective. Such figures as Mazzini, who sought to create a people's republic for his unified Italy, were unsuccessful, while the later leader Cavour, a much more pragmatic leader who sought to unite Italy by whatever means he could, managed to reunite Italy for the first time since the Roman empire.

However, Cavour may not have been an idealist, but he was still devoted to a cause, which he managed to achieve, unlike the idealist romantics Garibaldi and Mazzini. In his way, Cavour was just as much an idealist, but rather than achieving everything he wanted to do he achieved everything he could do, which I see as just as admirable as any action of Garibaldi or Mazzini.