▶ Your Answer :
In human history, there have been many
nations called as great nations. Normally, when it comes to considering a great
nation, many indicators such as military power, economic power, general welfare
of the people or individual prodigies are comprehensively considered. Hence, it
is hardly to argue that there is the surest indicator of a great nation and
that indicator is the general welfare of the people because other indicators
ought to be considered to call a great nation as a “great” nation.
Granted,
the general welfare of the people might be the one of the crucial indicators
for defining a great nation. For example, many so-called great nations such as
Roman Empire, British Empire before World War 2, and the United States of
America all have shown highly-acclaimed situation of welfare. Considering Gini
indicator which reveals nation’s equal distribution of capital, great nations
always have been among the top nations in the world. Also, considering other basic
needs for human beings such as elementary education, basic health-care, or
income distribution, it would be futile to compare with other impoverished,
minor nations such as the Philippines.
However,
the general welfare cannot be the only or the surest factor for defining a great
nation. Take European countries, such as Denmark or Norway, which provide
decent welfare system to the public, as examples. Are they appraised as great
nations? Highly doubtable. In actuality, a myriad of factors are considered
simultaneously in order to indicate a great nation. In this sense, the aforementioned indicators such as the
achievements of individuals can be one of factors as well. Historically, Germany between two world wars had many influential prodigies whom people
considered as a crucial factor for indicating Germany as one of the great
nations. In scientific realm, Einstein, the most prominent physicist in
history, cannot be neglected. He learned theoretical physics in Germany and
later coined the most eminent theory, a relative theory. In political realm,
Hitler, the leader of Germany which derived the world into the most devastating
situation, always comes up our mind when it comes to Germany, one of great
nations in history.
It
is axiomatic that those factors mentioned above are among the key factors
representing the Great nations. However, sometimes, the public want the great
nations to do more than just having many prodigals or providing decent welfare
systems to the public. When a state, itself, is considered as a sole actor,
people often urge the great nations should act as an
international police which stabilize the world. For example, pieces of media
urge the US, the great nation to date, to respond more actively in order to quench ISIS which incurs recent
crisis in the Middle East.
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