A similar line of thought is used to justify corruption:
"Corruption is not going away so people will have to get used to it. The alternative is making less money than people who are happy to take bribes."
"Corruption is not going away so people will have to get used to it. The alternative is making less money than people who are happy to take bribes."
Socrates famously made the opposing side of the argument against writing. Which is why we mostly know of him through Plato, who did believe in writing.
And to your corruption example. If you live in a society where corruption is normal and expected, you will be worse off if you are unwilling to be corrupt. It is indeed a local optima. But we are all, of course, better off if we live in a society where corruption is punished. To me, the worst thing about modern US politics, is that it's encouraging us to see ourselves as living in a world where corruption exists and is tolerated.