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

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.


The author maintains that the paramount characteristics of the society can be understood by studying its major cities. It is, however, unfair to generalize, only, cities reflects the mirage of society. Moreover, other parts of the country also needed to be studied to get the complete information of, traits of society, as a whole.

In today’s fast paced and competitive world, cities play an important role to the countries social, economic and political facets of the country. Apparently, cities are the political and financial hub of the country. International relations and foreign policies are established here. Also, most of the major governmental bodies enact, discusses major decisions, and implement it smoothly for welfare of the country in cities. Likewise, financial budget—for the proper operation and development works of the country—is appropriated in capitals. But regardless of these facts, rapid urbanization and industrialization, in major cities, in competition for being best, cities have lost true essence of the society.

Surely, one of the indispensable characteristics of society is culture and language, which reflects identity, beliefs, traditions, and behaviour encompassed by the people dwelling on society. Even when, major cities represent a part of cultural diversity and variations of language that represents society, studying of these aspects in cities only, one will not obtain outright information. For instance, Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, is one of the major cities. Although, the people inhabiting here represents few of the diversified cultural aspects and general language, one cannot infer that cultural diversity of society is mirror of Kathmandu only, as whole. There are various numbers of cultures and varieties of languages prevailing at different rural and sub-urban areas.

By the same token, education, literacy rates, employment opportunity, occupation, living lifestyle, music, art and many more, are the necessities to understand the characteristics as a whole. These characteristics, in both major cities and rural areas, should be studied in order to get the birds view of the society. To exemplify this let us consider the example of India. Being the capital and one of the major cities of India, it affords better education than Chennai, a comparatively rural state. Undoubtedly, it offers plethora of employment opportunity and lifestyle here is far more sophisticated. Likewise, different forms of art also vary from cities to urban areas based upon the beliefs and traditions.

In conclusion, it is true that major cities reflects the characteristics of society in political and economic aspects; however, in order to study important traits of the society as a whole, one must embrace other various factors that is not reflected by the major cities alone.