Is the surest indicator of a great nation is represented not by the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists, but by the general welfare of its people, as the speaker claim? I agree that general welfare of its people is an important indicator of a great nation, but because of the various criteria to measure nation's greatness, I don't consider it as the surest one. Besides, the welfare of people and the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists are not mutually exclusive. The latter is also involved into those criteria. A scientific measurement of a nation’s greatness should rely on the combination of many aspects. First of all, a nation's greatness is measured by many criteria and the two mentioned above represent the greatness in different aspects. On one hand, the general welfare of its people consists of material assurance of their living, enjoying the equal education, having rights of citizenship and so on. Only when people are given those welfare, they can enjoy the life better, which is not only a nation's goal but also a global desire. Those things should be a criterion of a nation's greatness. On the other hand, the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists usually lead a nation to make great progress. For example, a effective policy proposed by its ruler may revitalize the whole economy. A new machine invented by its scientist may help people to accomplish a work more quickly, leading to higher productivity. A beautiful painting by its artist could provide inspiration, lift our spirit, and incite our creativity and imagination, all of which spur us to on to greater accomplishments and help us to appreciate our own humanity. Secondly, the welfare of its people and the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists are not mutually exclusive. Firstly, no one would disagree that many scientific achievements have great influence on people's living. For example, James Watt's modification of steam machine improved its efficiency greatly, leading to the Industrial Revolution and easier lives. From then on, the products' quality was improved to a large extent and its cost declined. So, the living standard of people improved rapidly. The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, let many patients survive from the terrible disease, leading to healthier lives. Additionally, many art works also represents cultural strength. For example, the calligraphy, one of the oldest cultures in China, combined the flourishing history and patriotic feelings of ancestors, leading to happier lives. Moreover, some policies also play a crucial role in improving welfare of people. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt spearheaded major legislation and issued a profusion of executive orders that instituted the New Deal—a variety of programs designed to produce relief, recovery, and reform. As a result, the economy improved rapidly from 1933 to 1937 and the unemployment rate was considerably declined. Thirdly, there are some other criteria to measure a nation’s greatness such as industrial structure, national cohesion and so on. For example, some countries, depending greatly on the oil exportation, can’t be called great nations, even though their welfare of people is very satisfied. In World War II, some countries capitulated soon after being attacked, which can’t be called greatness at least in that period. In sum, the greatness of a nation is a compound concept and no one single criterion could be the surest indicator. It would be more scientific to measure the nation’s greatness by the combination of people’s welfare, elites’ achievements and other indices such as industrial structure and national cohesion.