"There is no straight and easy road to the city of modernity.  Whatever the main road chosen, there will be many tempting and ruinous side roads; there will be many marshes and wastes on either side, and many wrecked aspirations will lie there, rusting and gathering dust.  Those who arrive at the city will discover it to be quite different from the destination which they and their ancestors originally sought.  Yet, some roads are better than others; some destinations are better than others. 

Even if none is perfect and none corresponds to the voyagers' hope on starting, some of the destinations will turn out to have been worth the travail, worth the effort of the voyagers and of their friends who helped them on their way."  

-- Edward Shils, 1962.