ISSUE170 16号就考试了。。。求板砖！！！！

kobewang1234UID: 2746447

TOPIC: ISSUE170 - "The surestindicator of a great nation is not the achievements of its rulers, artists, orscientists, but the general welfare of all its people."
WORDS: 640
TIME: 00:44:30
DATE: 2010-7-11 15:52:55

In my point of view, the achievements ofelites such as rulers, artists and scientists are an important indicator of agreat nation; however, it is not the solely factor that people should take intoconsideration when evaluating a nation is great or not. People should also considerthe general welfare of all people in the nation.

The achievements of elites could representthe highest standard of a nation's development level. Surely, the higheststandard should be one crucial indicator of evaluating a nation is great ornot. The modern USAis a powerful illustration. In the scientific field, scientists in the USAcould realize most advanced techniques, and so many among them have won theNoble Prize which is considered the most precious awards in the scientificrealm; in the political field, the democratic regime is nearly perfect thatcivilians living in the USA could enjoy the healthy environment brought by thewise rulers; in the artistic field, a myriad of artists contribute enormouslyto the progress of the arts, such as pop and rock music, architects andliterature. There is no doubt that the USA is a great nation with incomparableachievements of its elites. Therefore, contributions and fruits brought by theelites is of course a critical indicator of a great nation.

However, we could not overlook anothersituation that even in some nations the elites have wonderful achievements,nevertheless people living in it suffer from poor life. In this case, whetherthe nation is great is open to doubt. For instance, the former Soviet Union was proud of its advanced achievements in militaryand scientific fields. Indeed, it had developed the latest weapons andaircrafts at that time. However, the general public was suffering the poorlife, and some of them could not even have enough clothes to keep themselveswarm in the harsh winter. Moreover, the so-called socialism could not even helpthe children have a well and formal education. Hence, it is reasonable to saythat the former Soviet Union was not a greatnation as it alleged. The following disintegration also proved that solelyrelying on the elites' achievements could not
ensure a nation become great.

In contrast, in some North Europeancountries, elites do not achieve so much; however, the general public couldenjoy a comfortable and happy life. It is hard to decide whether thesecountries are great or not. To be specific, people in Swiss enjoy the peacefuland stable life and get a nice welfare from their government. People living inSwiss could spend time in activities they are interested in and choose theirlife track all by themselves. Although elites in Swiss do not achieve as muchas those in the former Soviet Union, we couldnot unfairly say that it is not a great nation.

In my view, elites' achievements and thewelfare of the general public are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Both ofthem are crucial and elementary indicators of a great nation. The generalwelfare encourages civilians to take part in scientific, artistic, andpolitical fields to pursue greater achievements; on the other hand, thewonderful achievements done by elites could also improve the living standardsof common civilians. Let us go back to the example of the modern USA, with thesupports of common people, scientists could study subjects that they areinterested in; and common people could also get pleasure from the achievementsmade by the latest technology. Both of them shine more brilliantly with theother's company. Hence, both aspects are indicators of a great nation.

In sum, solely great achievements of elitesor the general welfare is not representative enough to draw any conclusion on anation's greatness. Only if taking both aspects into consideration, peoplecould get a fair answer to the question whether a nation is great or not.