Issue: To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.

My Response:

The statement uses the word ‘society’ which represents a portion of human race. This portion of human race, say citizens of a country, are demarcated by national boundaries. Within this boundary, exist a diverse set of cultures and ideals each chalked up to a community, and some commingled with one another. It will be irrational to use only major cities, whose population makes less than 20% of the national populace, as a cue point to understand the most important characteristics of a society. It will be like gleaming valuable statistical measures of a population space, while using only a sample space of the population set as training examples. The better way would be to consider the population space.

Let’s consider economy to be one of the most important characteristics. Throughout the US history, cities such as San Francisco, Boston, and New York, are the major ports for import and exports. People from the country side would explore different parts of the globe while making a necessary stop at these cities. Technology has developed these coastal cities to its zenith. Amazon has planned to invest 2.5 billion dollars to set up their ‘second’ headquarters in Long Island, NY. While both East and West coast is rapidly advancing, cities and towns in the Mid-west and down South countryside such as Louisiana are taking a hit. They have more people below the standard poverty line than in established cities such as NYC. Farmers are considering moving into cities as they have better chances of finding higher paying jobs. In essence, the economy of the society in cities doesn’t represent the economy of the society in the countryside.

Another important characteristic is the variance of political philosophy in cities and country-side. If we only analyze the major cities, we tend to keep political philosophies of communities living in towns and countryside at bay. Often people in major cities tend to be liberal in their views as they have greater interaction with the free world. This leads to suppression of peoples’ voices living in the countryside who hold a conservative view. Eventually, public clashes are seen within and across communities. Common examples are views on LGBT legalization, gun control, universal healthcare etc.

It is to be acknowledged that for certain societal characteristics such as economy and technological advancement, major cities are the leading indicators of a nation. At the same time, it is the industries, manufacturing units, and corn plantations which are the impetus for these leading indicators. To enumerate and analyze the most important characteristics of a society, it is essential to look at viewpoints from both sides of the aisle. Taking the middle path, can lead to a holistic societal well-being of a nation.


Many Thanks,
kb