Harinban
Jun 9, 2015
Writing Feedback / Measuring quality of a nation. What is the best determinant of a wise, respectable society? [3]
Claim: The surest indicator of a great nation is not the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists.
Reason: The surest indicator of a great nation is actually the welfare of all its people.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.
The claim contends that a definite judgment about a nation cannot be made by examining the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists. The reason behind the claim is that the surest indicator of a great nation is actually the welfare of all its people. While it is reasonable to suggest that the welfare is a good indicator of a great nation, but it is hard to argue that the welfare is the surest indicator. While the claim sounds moderate and reasonable, the reason is too extreme.
First of all, in today's highly complex society, welfare has very closely related to governance. A government's decisions directly affect the welfare of citizens. Considering health care, constitutions, military force, three powers and et cetera, citizens welfare cannot be achieved without a good governance. Therefore, each move made by a nation's rulers cannot be ignored. Furthermore, today's highly specialized society, each profession must fulfill their duties in order to function as a nation. Hence, each individual's effort, which included artists and scientist, also plays significant roles.
Especially in modern society, where international affair is more ubiquitous, a definition of a great nation cannot be just the welfare of the people, but also how the nation is interact with the globe. The colonial era would be a good counter example. While conquering nations were prosperous, it is hard to say that conquering nations were a great nation in today's view points. Even if the citizens of the conquering nation living a good life, the unfair act toward colonies cannot be justified and should be condemned. If one nation similay tries to conquer other nations for the welfare of themselves, other nations will criticize and try to suppress such attempts. It is because now we, as a global society, has a consensus that one should not intrude other just for the benefit of their own.
However, it is possible that the achievements can disguise people too. In history, many dictators tried to hide their atrocities and idolize themselves. Such attempts might have worked initially but later revealed. A good extant example would be North Korea. North Korea used to claim that they do not have any disabled people because they are a "great nation." The North Korea's claim was revealed to be lie, and it was revealed that they confined disables in a separate facilities or sometimes killed. Just like a person, appearance cannot be a sole indicator of the quality of nation.
In conclusion, it is very hard to define what is the surest indicator. Finding such indicator is very elusive, however, if there is one, it would be a mix of the welfare of citizens in a nation and the reputation in a global society.
Claim: The surest indicator of a great nation is not the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists.
Reason: The surest indicator of a great nation is actually the welfare of all its people.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.
The claim contends that a definite judgment about a nation cannot be made by examining the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists. The reason behind the claim is that the surest indicator of a great nation is actually the welfare of all its people. While it is reasonable to suggest that the welfare is a good indicator of a great nation, but it is hard to argue that the welfare is the surest indicator. While the claim sounds moderate and reasonable, the reason is too extreme.
First of all, in today's highly complex society, welfare has very closely related to governance. A government's decisions directly affect the welfare of citizens. Considering health care, constitutions, military force, three powers and et cetera, citizens welfare cannot be achieved without a good governance. Therefore, each move made by a nation's rulers cannot be ignored. Furthermore, today's highly specialized society, each profession must fulfill their duties in order to function as a nation. Hence, each individual's effort, which included artists and scientist, also plays significant roles.
Especially in modern society, where international affair is more ubiquitous, a definition of a great nation cannot be just the welfare of the people, but also how the nation is interact with the globe. The colonial era would be a good counter example. While conquering nations were prosperous, it is hard to say that conquering nations were a great nation in today's view points. Even if the citizens of the conquering nation living a good life, the unfair act toward colonies cannot be justified and should be condemned. If one nation similay tries to conquer other nations for the welfare of themselves, other nations will criticize and try to suppress such attempts. It is because now we, as a global society, has a consensus that one should not intrude other just for the benefit of their own.
However, it is possible that the achievements can disguise people too. In history, many dictators tried to hide their atrocities and idolize themselves. Such attempts might have worked initially but later revealed. A good extant example would be North Korea. North Korea used to claim that they do not have any disabled people because they are a "great nation." The North Korea's claim was revealed to be lie, and it was revealed that they confined disables in a separate facilities or sometimes killed. Just like a person, appearance cannot be a sole indicator of the quality of nation.
In conclusion, it is very hard to define what is the surest indicator. Finding such indicator is very elusive, however, if there is one, it would be a mix of the welfare of citizens in a nation and the reputation in a global society.
