Various governments think that economic progress is their most important goal. Some people, however, think that other types of progress are equally important for a country. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Since the 1800s, economists like Adam Smith and Karl Marx have studied and proposed that growth should be measured in economic terms, and the world over, governments and financial institutions have accepted it. Several economic metrics like GDP, inflation, public debt etc and other jargon has filled our lexicon. Are these measures adequate to measure
progress
? In the following paragraphs, I will explore both these views and provide my opinion.
Firstly
, we will analyze the rationale for economic
indicators
of
progress
. The best thing is that these
indicators
are measurable, and not only are they measurable, but they are
also
consistent in time and space.
This
means that we can compare,
for example
, the present economy of India with the British economy in the 1600s.
Secondly
, since these are agreed upon by all governments, they can be used as stable indices for grading and rating countries and global businesses.
Lastly
, since the entire
progress
is summed up in a number, economic indices are convenient tools for discussions and debates.
However
, as many sociologists have pointed out, economic indices are not inclusive and do not reveal the true picture.
For instance
, the United States has a GDP per capita of $ 65,000.00, but does it mean that everyone has $ 65,000.00? Hardly at all! There are thousands of homeless in the United States, which these metrics gloss over.
Hence
, many commentators have highlighted the need for having inclusive measures of
progress
.
For example
, Bhutan has Gross National Happiness to measure its
progress
, and she has been praised by many for
this
far-sighted thought. Bangladesh
also
tries to measure its
progress
based on social
indicators
like fertility ratios and education levels of women.
Hence
, countries are trying to use social rather than economic
indicators
of
progress
. In conclusion, after analyzing both views, I am of the opinion that we cannot forsake economic
indicators
of
progress
However
, we must
also
include social
indicators
as measures of growth for a holistic view of the situation.
Submitted by anubratadas on

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Include an introduction and conclusion

A conclusion is essential for IELTS writing task 2. It is more important than most people realise. You will be penalised for missing a conclusion in your IELTS essay.

The easiest paragraph to write in an essay is the conclusion paragraph. This is because the paragraph mostly contains information that has already been presented in the essay – it is just the repetition of some information written in the introduction paragraph and supporting paragraphs.

The conclusion paragraph only has 3 sentences:

  • Summary
  • Restatement of thesis
  • Prediction or recommendation

Example:

To summarize, a robotic teacher does not have the necessary disciple to properly give instructions to students and actually works to retard the ability of a student to comprehend new lessons. Therefore, it is clear that the idea of running a classroom completely by a machine cannot be supported. After thorough analysis on this subject, it is predicted that the adverse effects of the debate over technology-driven teaching will always be greater than the positive effects, and because of this, classroom teachers will never be substituted for technology.

Start your conclusion with a linking phrase. Here are some examples:

  • In conclusion
  • To conclude
  • To summarize
  • Finally
  • In a nutshell
  • In general

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Topic Vocabulary:
  • standard of living
  • sustainable development
  • social equality
  • environmental degradation
  • cultural heritage
  • technological innovation
  • wealth disparity
  • human development index
  • holistic approach
  • quality of life
  • economic prosperity
  • healthcare system
  • education system
  • cultural diversity
  • policy decisions
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