Is the 'passive versus active' argument flawed

We use a base of low cost passive and then try to add extra return by some active on top ... because I think many recognise active can outperform ... the thing is to pick 'the winner' for clients is hard. It is not that there is a belief that active underperforms passive, it is more than predicting the future of which active manager with which style will 'win' is the problem . The crystal ball is not working and after 14 years of mostly bull run clients have forgotten about negative returns ;) generally forgave COVID as an anomaly period, but are not tolerant of negatives outside of 'market average', I find.