GRE Issue Topic 115

Sample 1:

Current society, as a whole, has become highly invested in people centric policies – from governments that ensure the welfare of the citizens, to companies that place customer and employee values at their core. This transformation is in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings, that “man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow–men.”

Throughout the ages, welfare has been an indicator of a nations’ economical and cultural prosperity. High living standards point to economical stability, growth, abundance of resources – all of which are necessary to ensure that the populations’ necessities are met. Moreover, the presence of welfare signals the existence of a cultural system capable of fostering the ideas necessary to support it. High living standards and civilization have always been linked – take for instance the great nations of the past, like Ancient Greece or Rome, hallmarks of civilization that have left a deep imprint on the world. In both of these cases, the quality of life of the average citizen was well above that of the people living in the neighboring countries – they had the buying power and the possibility to enjoy a wider variety of products and leisurely activities, while being less concerned with day to day survival.

In this sense, it can be said that welfare encourages creativity, by meeting people’s basic needs which in turn gives them the freedom to pursue their vocations/ideals. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs supports this idea. Maslow’s theory states that an individuals’ fundamental needs have to be fulfilled before he can focus on the higher–level needs. What this means is that, for instance, metabolic requirements will tend to supersede self–actualizing actions, namely, artistic or creative activities will have to take a backseat to hunger or thirst. Countries where people’s basic needs are being taken care of can afford to dedicate more time and resources to higher pursuits.

Moreover, countries with a high standard of living have the means to create programs and support systems for artists and scientists. The countries in northern Europe that is famous for the quality of life of the average citizen, have significant government support when it comes to education. Their tuition fees are much lower than in the USA, and they invest a greater deal of resources into scholarships and research funding than countries like India. More than that, the northern European countries strive to ensure not just the physical welfare of their citizens, but also their mental and ideological wellbeing by providing an open–minded climate where diversity can thrive. As Plato postulated in the Republic, the stability and success of a political community depends on the moral character of the people who make up that community.

From these arguments, it becomes apparent that rulers, artists and scientists are not the only ones whose achievements contribute to a country’s greatness. But rather, economical power, one of the main characteristics of a strong nation, is dependent on the consumers and their buying power.

Ultimately, when assessing a nation’s greatness, it all comes down to what traits best represent it. From what we have seen so far, the welfare of a nation’s citizens, closely tied to their economic power, provides a nurturing environment for talents that will end up shaping the rest of the world and contributing to the benefit of mankind. As such, it can be said that general welfare is one of the surest indicators of a country's greatness.

Sample 2:

How is a nation classified as great? Does this classification depend on the achievements of the rulers, scientists and artists that the nation has produced or does it depend on the satisfaction and happiness of the citizens of the nation? It is evident that a nation cannot be termed as a great nation if there is widespread discontent amongst its citizens no matter how successful the nation has been in producing illustrious rulers, scientists and artists. Therefore, the general welfare of the people of a nation is definitely an indicator of the greatness of a nation.

A nation marches ahead on the path to progress with support from the contributions made by its people. The citizens need to be employed, literate, healthy, satisfied and happy in order to assist the nation on its way to progress. A nation plagued by poverty, famine, slow economic growth, unemployment will have to deal with several related problems that will make it difficult for the nation to progress and to be known as a great nation.

People who are below the poverty line will resort to unscrupulous means to make money. Unemployed youth can easily be lured into carrying out criminal activities because of the probability of high monetary gains. Corruption would be rampant and we all know the effect that corruption has on the well-being and progress of a nation. Living in the country would no longer be safe either for the citizens or for the tourists visiting the country. The nation may boast of several well-known scientists, artists and rulers, but will the achievements of these people help in improving the image of the nation in the eyes of the world? The answer to this question would be a definite, “No”. People judge the greatness of a nation by the living conditions of the nation and the greatness of some of its citizens makes little or no contribution to the greatness of the nation.

Breakthroughs in the world of science and technology made by the scientists of a nation cannot do much for the well-being of the nation unless the technology is made use of for improving the living conditions of the citizens of the nation. For instance, if a team of scientists from a developing country makes a path breaking discovery in the field of generation of power, the nation can progress ahead only if the technology is applied for generation of power within the nation. The team of scientists may move to another developed nation for further research work or the nation may not have the necessary funds to implement the newly discovered technology for the betterment of its citizens. In either of the cases, the scientists would not be able to contribute anything towards the progress of their nation.

A nation is determined by its people. If the people are looked after well by their leaders and their welfare is always kept in mind whenever major political decisions are taken, then it is evident that the nation will progress on the path which leads to greatness. This is because the well-being of a nation is directly related to the well-being and welfare of its people who constitute the nation. The greatness of a nation cannot be determined by a handful of people who have gained popularity and fame because of their achievements in the field of science and technology or politics.