IELTS essay - Most countries want to improve standard of living through economic development, however, others think social value is lost as a result. Do you think the advantages of economic development outweigh the disadvantages?

Economic development is one of the crucial measurements to evaluate the degree of social wellbeing in a society. In the race for achieving economic benefits man has to pay the price of loss of social values. Nonetheless, the pros of economic advancement outweigh its cons.  

It is irrefutable that by the development of economy people can improve their quality of life. For example, in USA even the poorest of the poor has the basic amenities of life such as food, clothing and shelter. All the citizens enjoy high level of social welfare and they enjoy free medical care and free education. Even in countries like India and China, because International Companies have created many jobs and as a result, economic development has accelerated even further.

On the other hand, as every rose is accompanied by thorns, similarly in the quest for economic growth, social values have taken a back seat. People have become greedy and selfish and have no time for each other. Young generation has started following global culture and therefore they have forgotten moral values and do not respect their elders. People have become workaholics and so find it difficult to strike a balance between work and family life.

What is more, people resort to unethical means to enjoy their economic prosperity.  In other words, economic growth causes people to seek other undesirable excuses to obtain satisfaction. Even in the business world, colleagues are not co-operative as in earlier times. As a result, the relationship of the people in the society is much worse than that in the past. Money-oriented society is not a very pleasant society to live in. No wonder, in the developed countries many people are downshifting and refusing promotions to give time to their family and society.

To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that, economic development is a good thing and the people enjoy a better standard of living but there is some loss of social values. The onus is on the individuals to strike a balance between work and leisure to get all the advantages of economic development without the loss of social values.