Some
people think that if a country is already rich any addition in economic wealth
does not make its citizens happier. Do you agree or disagree with this
statement? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from
your own knowledge or experience.
Ever increasing prosperity of elite nations
has made social theorists curious about the level of feeling of well-being of
the inhabitants of such nations. Some feel that the scale of contentment has
somehow stagnated, and no further development can raise this level, while
others feel quite differently.
Economies that made considerable progress
over the years, as elucidated by facts and figures of recent surveys, are now
facing a saturation point since the economic prosperity has reached a plateau
where no further ascent is possible. In the past, people were enthusiastic about
every new improvement in the economic conditions, but that sentiment has gone
missing now, as the expectations of people have perhaps risen further that can
never be attained by indulging in consumerism.
On the tops of that, rising levels of incomes
do not have to necessarily mean that feeling of well-being is increasing
parallelly. Life in such countries has
become harder due to rising inflation; shifting focus of home-grown industries
to outsourcing cheap labor and other resources, etc. This is leading to a rise
in unemployment and reduction in opportunities for business in the local
jurisdiction. Even though people are getting appropriate and adequate support
from the governments, lack of productive engagement among the citizens is
resulting in higher discontent.
However, it can be easily argued that the
rising prosperity does bring along a sentiment of optimism since the
inhabitants of prosperous economies feel far more secure about their, as well
as their kid’s and sibling’s future. Also, they experience a feeling of
eternity since they are able to fulfill their obligation towards humanity, by
helping poor in other parts of the world.
Hence, I feel that despite many presenting optimism about this phenomenon, an increment in
prosperity of rich countries does not signify a parallel rise in level of
contentment.