<div>R' Michael Makovi writes:</div>
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<div>>> But the purpose of the Torah is to perfect the society! As Rabbi Aryeh<br>Carmel puts it in Masterplan, the aim of the Torah is not the<br>perfected individual, but rather the perfected society.<br><br>Any individual by himself can be righteous. And it's not because it's
<br>easy. Rather, there's nothing to do! True, I haven't stolen or lied or<br>injured, but I couldn't if I wanted to! There's a saying, something<br>like "When there's nothing to steal, the thief regards his virtue as
<br>real". So it isn't merely that the achievement was easily won. Rather,<br>there's no achievement at all whatsoever! <<</div>
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<div>It may be true that the ultimate goal is to perfect society, but if the choice is living in a corrupt society and trying to influence them, or becoming a hermit/going to live in a cave for fear of them influencing you, the Rambam in 6th Perek of Hilchos Deos is very clear on which option to choose...
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