Some people claim that you can tell whether a nation is great by looking at the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists. Others argue that the surest indicator of a great nation is, in fact, the general welfare of its entire people.
Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.
There is no doubt that the greatness of a country invariably depends on the cumulative welfare of its people, yet history of mankind is witness to the fact that it is the contributions of the leaders, artists and scientists which enhances the progress of the nation and makes the ‘welfare of its people’ become a reality in the first place. For instance, in a country marred by a chaos, venality, scandals, poverty and which is also surrounded by a troubled neighbourhood, there would hardly be any trace of general contentment or welfare in the population. Now imagine, in that very country, a deeply insightful leader takes on the reins of effective governance, lays and implements the strongest administration towards employment and poverty alleviation, employs the most efficacious foreign policies, facilitates foreign investment and trade, and checks on the corruption issues with the strictest means. This leader, not only helps mollify the discontent of the population, but also brings about its welfare through the much needed policies. As this leader succeeds in implementing his visions, he is termed as an ‘achiever’. So in a nutshell, it was the achievements of the leader that delivered the ‘welfare’ to his people. By the way, the chaotic country in the example was India three years back, and the visionary who helped the 1.2 billion of its citizens to finally believe in the possibility of being content staying in their native country, is Narendra Modi, the country’s present Prime Minister, who ranked 9th on Forbes most influential people of the world in 2015, one year after taking office.
Moving to the wider global context, lets us explore which nations do we really visualise as being ‘great’ - The United States, China, Sweden, Canada, or North Korea? Obviously, the last would rarely feature in anybody’s good books. The first four on the other hand, are tight contenders for the first position in all sorts of greatness indicators. Citing Forbes again, Canada has been securing the first place consecutively for the past four years, as the most reputable country. What makes Canada so great anyway? Well, the survey for the most reputable nation measures the level of satisfaction of the people and is based on the paramenters like their contentment with and trust in the government, the business climate, arts and education sector, among others. In 2015, among the Canadian respondents, a staggering 95% perceived the state as “a great place to live” and “whose progress went quite unaffected during the recesson.” The later part as they believe is due to the stability of the Stephen Harper government, its successful policies and the healthy promotion of business during the recession. This makes the point lucid that the general welfare a population is significantly dependent on the efficiency of the rulers. If the policies of the ruling government were flawed during the recession, we would have had a different story to tell about Canada today. Harper government’s was another instance of achievement that secured the welfare of its citizens during difficult times.
Going back in time, there was this era between the 17th to about the middle of 18th century, when one measure of spectacularity of a Nation was gauged by the plethora of artistic marvels produced or the number of scientific discoveries made. The period between Scientific Revolution, Middle Ages and Industrialisation witnessed a rat race between the European nations with their artists, scientists and intellectuals of each trying to come up with a wonder more awe-inspiring or an invention more profound or a theory more ingenious than all their contemporaries from other nations. Thus the world was bestowed with Newton’s Gravity, Edison’s bulb, Bell’s telephone, along with other technological inventions like gunpowder, windmills, mechanical clocks, spinning wheels and spectacles that benefitted the lives of people to an extent that was deemed unfathomable before. The period saw the surge in modified building techniques like the Gothic structures , medieval castles and cathedrals like the Notre Dame, St.Peter’s Basillica, St.Paul’s, Pantheon of Rome, etc. Through each wonder or invention, the respective nation would try manifesting its power and creativity, thereby associating its greatness with these contributions from the artists and intellectuals. Fast forward to the Cold War era and we have the example of the space race between the USA and Soviet Union (Sputnik and Appollo missions), with each of these most powerful countries of the time, in a quest for superiority and dominance over space explorations. Apparently the brilliance and perseverance of space scientists of either countries were relied upon to prove the worth of each. USA although with a few initial glitches, went on to assert its power and greatness by sending the first ever person to land on moon.
Some would argue that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un with all the Nuclear and ballistic missile tests and scientific advanacements under his regime seems like achieving too. So why isn’t the country great? The answer to this though, would involve the contentment and progress of the country’s general people. Many sources, including BBC have revealed the egregious state of affairs and lifestyle inside North Korea. Under the totalitarian regime, its people face stark poverty and hunger and are worse than slaves. The world community condemns the government of North Korea time and again for its blatant violation of human rights. What Kim Jong does is for manifesting the power of his dynasty over the people and to proclaim to the world that his country is to be feared. The achievements that he enjoys today are his own personal gains. They are not for the greater benefit of his people. So North Korea by no possible way can be called great. To be a great country, North Koreans would have to be happy, they would need to prosper. And this will not happen if the present state of affairs continue. This instance too, promotes that although superiority of a nation would depend on the general public welfare, it is the Governemnt or the leaders of the nation that helps secure the same.
In conclusion, it can be surmised that a Nation’s greatness is in the hands of a leader who would direct the progress of a Nation in the ways that are most conducive for the nation and his people. Throughout history uptil now, we have had numerous instances of leaders, who in a bid to assert the superiority of his nation would call upon scientists, artists, intellectuals and adept policy-makers to come up with something so grand that it bedazzles the world, whether it is the Pantheon, or the first man on moon mission, or bringing a country rife with lawlessness to be able to stand on its feet, with the strongest policies. The world calls those nations great which have achieved surmountable feats of glory and have ensured satisfaction of its people, even in turbulent times. Therefore, it can be posited that it is rather, the collective contributions and hence the achievements of the leaders and the artists and the scientists or any intellectuals for that matter, which decide the greatness of a nation. The welfare of the people is right in their hands.
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...depends on the cumulative welfare of its people, yet history of mankind is witnes...
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...n that very country, a deeply insightful leader takes on the reins of effective g...
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...e really visualise as being 'great’ The United States, China, Sweden, Canada...
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...vel of satisfaction of the people and is based on the paramenters like their cont...
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...sector, among others. In 2015, among the Canadian respondents, a staggering 95% p...
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...tory to tell about Canada today. Harper government’s was another instance of achievement tha...
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...of its citizens during difficult times. Going back in time, there was this era b...
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...ime, there was this era between the 17th to about the middle of 18th century, whe...
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...tury, when one measure of spectacularity of a Nation was gauged by the plethora o...
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...eir contemporaries from other nations. Thus the world was bestowed with Newton’s Gr...
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...orld was bestowed with Newton’s Gravity, Edison’s bulb, Bell’s telephone, along w...
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...ng techniques like the Gothic structures , medieval castles and cathedrals like th...
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... and cathedrals like the Notre Dame, St.Peter’s Basillica, St.Paul’s, Pantheon of Rom...
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...he Notre Dame, St.Peter’s Basillica, St.Paul’s, Pantheon of Rome, etc. Through each ...
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...ssert its power and greatness by sending the first ever person to land on moon. ...
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...t happen if the present state of affairs continue. This instance too, promotes th...
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...riority of a nation would depend on the general public welfare, it is the Governemnt or the le...
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Discourse Markers used:
['also', 'anyway', 'apparently', 'but', 'finally', 'first', 'hence', 'if', 'really', 'so', 'therefore', 'thus', 'well', 'for instance', 'in conclusion', 'no doubt', 'by the way', 'in the first place', 'on the other hand']
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance in Part of Speech:
Nouns: 0.280059746079 0.238963963785 117% => OK
Verbs: 0.113517550411 0.154291517835 74% => OK
Adjectives: 0.0724421209858 0.0886310499679 82% => OK
Adverbs: 0.0388349514563 0.0506014161523 77% => OK
Pronouns: 0.0336071695295 0.0449626384858 75% => OK
Prepositions: 0.128454070202 0.123526278965 104% => OK
Participles: 0.0291262135922 0.0379742944744 77% => OK
Conjunctions: 2.92203422627 2.82910677849 103% => OK
Infinitives: 0.0186706497386 0.0316879551592 59% => OK
Particles: 0.00149365197909 0.0014075125626 106% => OK
Determiners: 0.129947722181 0.0950106342287 137% => OK
Modal_auxiliary: 0.0112023898432 0.0245489744465 46% => OK
WH_determiners: 0.0149365197909 0.0157978311181 95% => OK
Vocabulary words and sentences:
No of characters: 7346.0 2899.98275862 253% => OK
No of words: 1190.0 478.390804598 249% => Less content wanted.
Chars per words: 6.1731092437 6.0591788892 102% => OK
Fourth root words length: 5.87336161166 4.65681771538 126% => OK
words length more than 5 chars: 0.379831932773 0.369966551584 103% => OK
words length more than 6 chars: 0.291596638655 0.285172536893 102% => OK
words length more than 7 chars: 0.2 0.207245337619 97% => OK
words length more than 8 chars: 0.145378151261 0.136322040163 107% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.92203422627 2.82910677849 103% => OK
Unique words: 554.0 234.298850575 236% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.465546218487 0.492565540709 95% => OK
Word variations: 69.0758069572 56.8184620615 122% => OK
How many sentences: 43.0 21.1264367816 204% => Less sentences wanted.
Sentence length: 27.6744186047 23.7468607788 117% => OK
Sentence length SD: 101.976110417 62.0618507366 164% => OK
Chars per sentence: 170.837209302 143.81877709 119% => OK
Words per sentence: 27.6744186047 23.7468607788 117% => OK
Discourse Markers: 0.441860465116 0.728815259664 61% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 4.87931034483 102% => OK
Language errors: 17.0 7.71264367816 220% => Correct essay format wanted or double check grammar & spelling issues after essay writing.
Readability: 56.8340824702 52.2641144681 109% => OK
Elegance: 2.35341365462 1.64547068916 143% => OK
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.511608315138 0.39480681544 130% => OK
Sentence sentence coherence: 0.110136207844 0.11556216369 95% => OK
Sentence sentence coherence SD: 0.0750366826332 0.0736162880345 102% => OK
Sentence paragraph coherence: 0.528101643696 0.531340600358 99% => OK
Sentence paragraph coherence SD: 0.179542986482 0.15197228837 118% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.205843497666 0.158818324754 130% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.109796269691 0.0851127212816 129% => OK
Paragraph paragraph coherence: 0.65414114495 0.388921930462 168% => OK
Paragraph paragraph coherence SD: 0.0654244826974 0.0677916285025 97% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.418033310462 0.28015025965 149% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0547541746532 0.0610219844235 90% => OK
Task Achievement:
Sentences with positive sentiment : 31.0 10.8591954023 285% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 7.0 5.30459770115 132% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 5.0 4.96264367816 101% => OK
Positive topic words: 27.0 8.10632183908 333% => OK
Negative topic words: 7.0 3.93390804598 178% => OK
Neutral topic words: 3.0 3.04597701149 98% => OK
Total topic words: 37.0 15.0862068966 245% => OK
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Rates: 83.33 out of 100
Scores by essay E-rater: 5.0 Out of 6