- UID
- 819067
- 在线时间
- 小时
- 注册时间
- 2012-10-16
- 最后登录
- 1970-1-1
- 主题
- 帖子
- 性别
- 保密
|
Issue 28. The surest indicator of a great nation is represented not by the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists, but by the general welfare of its people.
Since seventeenth century, when national states, instead of empires, became the main characters in the international arena, the topic about the national power and national achievement has been the focus of attention among scholars and thinkers. People not only discuss how to build a wealthy and powerful country but also argue which factors should become the criterions to judge the achievements of a country. Many people believe that the achievements of a small group of elites, such as statesmen, scientists or artists, represent the greatness of a country. However, as the development of the world, more and more people realize that general welfare of its people reflects the achievements of a country. In my point of view, the criterions to judge the greatness the country are complex and various, which means that single one can hardly shows the all aspects of the country. However, in all criterions, the general welfare of people is more important than others.
Apparently, if the living level of people cannot be improved during the development, the country can hardly be cited as a great one. A society with wealthy citizens, freedom and democracy, open-mindness is always the cradle of the great people. From history we know this opinion has been proved again and again. For supporting example, one should look no further than the Great Britain and Russia in nineteenth century. There appeared great thinkers, painters, writers and scientists in both countries; however, comparing to Great Britain, the living standard of the common people in Russia is much lower than in Britain. Let alone the serfdom system, which has already been weeded out to the dustbin of the history, those great people which grand achievements, were often from noble families. Automatically, the achievements of art, science, technology and politics had declined accompanying with the decline of the noble system all around the world. So, since the common people are cradles of the great ones, the high level of general welfare of people is the really guarantee of the powerfulness and prosperousness of a country.
Even though I emphasize the importance of the general welfare of people, I do not refuse to concede the contributions of the great people to their countries. The achievement of artists, statesmen or scientists can inspire the sense of national pride and improve the strength of the country in a large extent. However, we cannot forget that there were also great scientists and artists in Nazi Germany and Communism Soviet Union. The guarantees of their achievements were at the cost of the general welfare of common people. Even though their achievements are great and shiny on the personal level, such cost for a country can hardly be lasting. Both of the two nations had no domestic political environment and spent huge amount of money on war or preparing the war. Finally, such actions leaded to the crash of the whole nations and the cultivation of the great people could be no longer possible.
In summary, one should combine the factors of the general welfare of people and the achievements of the great people in judging the greatness of a country. The history tells us that wealthy common people can always breed great people and great countries, but in reverse, a small group of elites cannot guarantee the wealth of common people and powerfulness of the country.
总体来看，评判一个国家的富强与否，需要结合伟大人物的成就和人民的富足水平两个方面来看，但其中更重要的是人民的富足水平这个指标。因为，历史告诉我们，富足的人民总是能够孕育伟大的个人和伟大的国家，而部分人的伟大却不能保证民众的富足和国家的强盛。
很明显，如果占国家绝大部分人口的民众的生活水平得不到提升，这个国家就很难称得上是伟大的国家。一个民众富裕、自由民主、思想开元的社会是孕育伟人的摇篮。从历史上我们知道这种孕育持久而不衰。让我们比较十九世纪的英国和俄国：两国都诞生了伟大的科学家，思想家和艺术家，然而，相比起英国，俄国的人民的生活水平远远逊之。且不说像农奴制这样早已落后于时代的制度，就是这些俄国那些伟大的人物，往往也出身于贵族家庭。自然而然的，随着贵族制度在全球范围的衰落，俄国的文艺、政治成就也逐渐衰落下去。所以民众是伟大人物的摇篮：民众的富足才是国家富强的真正保证。
自从17世纪民族国家取代帝国成为国际舞台上的主角以来，国家的实力与成就成为了学者们和思想家们关注的焦点。人们不仅讨论如何建成一个富裕强大的国家，更讨论什么才是评价国家成就的标准。很多人相信少数人的成就，如科学家、艺术家和政治家的成就，代表了国家的伟大。不过随着时代的发展，越来越多的人相信：国民的总体富足幸福才是衡量国家成就的标准。在我看来，国家的评判标准是复杂多样的，单一的指标难以衡量，然而在其中，民众的富足水平超出其他因素，是决定性的一环。
当然，我不是否定这些伟大人物的成就对于国家的贡献。一位艺术家或科学家的成就能在很大程度上激励民族的自豪感，提升国家的实力水平。但是，我们不能忘记，纳粹德国和共产主义苏联也是有杰出的科学家、工程师的。但对他们成就的保障是建立在牺牲普通民众的基础上的，虽然在个人上，他们的成就伟大高耸，然而以牺牲民众换来的人才培养终究不能持久。这两个国家没有民主富足的环境，都违背人民的意愿将大量的金钱用在发动战争或准备战争上，最终导致市民社会的彻底崩盘，而此时，伟大的人物，伟大的成就再也无从说起。 |
|
京公网安备11010202008513号 京ICP证101109号 京ICP备12012021号
发表于 2012-11-12 12:04:54
收藏
收藏
楼主
