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113. 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
It is widely debated that which is the surest indicator of a great nation. Some argued that the living quality of the citizens, rather than the achievements of the elite, such as the rulers, artists, or scientists is the surest indicator for the success of a country. However, in my point of view, there are so many indicators that could measure its success that none of them outweighs the other.
One of the most crucial indicator of a great nation is the living standard of all of the people since they are the major composition of the society. The welfare of the gerneal public is the indicator of the economy, and the extent of governmental income. Since the major source of governmental funds is obtained through taxation, the society composed with richer people are ought to provide greater amount of tax for the national government to spend on science and technology development, national security, and infrastructure, which thereby further improving the economy growth of the nation and living standards amongst the general public.
Additionally, the indicator of a great nation does not only expressed in terms of materials, but also the culture and thinking of the nation. From this perspective, the welfare of the public does could not be concluded as the surest indicator. For nations which possess a long history, such as Egypt and China, they were once considered as the giants in the world even though they are categorized as the developing countries in the present age. The culture and the thinking of mankind are considered as one of the major distinctions from animals, and the countries that have a distinctive culture or peculiar thinking are attractive to the world, and thereby percieved as a great nation as well. Meanwhile, for a nation with a positive thinking or attitude towards development, such as the diligent yet humble nature of Chinese people suggested by their ancestors, are likely to undergo a rise in the national power in the future. Therefore, in other words, culture and thinking possessed by a certain nation is an important indicator as well as a determinator of the greatness of a country.
The achievements of the elite in a nation is also a factor to contribute to the greatness of a country that should not be negected. The elite, usually with extraordinary talent or knowledge in their field, tend to represent or expand the image of the country. For instance, Confucious, a great philosopher in China, had sucessfully promoted his thinking to nearly every Chinese people, and shaped their way of thinking thoughout the development of Chinese culture. Therefore, to understand the way of thinking of Chinese people, it is helpful to have a read of what Confucious was suggested. In this case, the elite of a nation could not only represent the nation, but also emerge themselves into the culture of the nation. To take the European artists in Renaissance as another example, they have represented the propensity of the whole Europe that their artwork, architecture, and thinking have integrated into the Europe until present days. Hence, it is somehow reasonable that the elite, including the rulers, artists, and scientists could indicate the greatness of a country.
It is difficult to define a surest indicator of a great nation as there are a variety of factors that contributes or evaluates the sucess of a country. The welfare of the general public, the culture and thinking of the nation, and the achievements of the elite could all measure its success. |
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