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General Paper:
Politics
Theme 4: Responsibility of
Governance
Magic Square Education Centre
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Magic Square Education Centre
General Paper
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POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
1. Should governments provide free healthcare? (2014 TJC)
Cons of free healthcare/Ethical responsibility
Ability of countries/Pros &
2. Is it fair to expect countries to be well-prepared for disease outbreaks? (2019 HCI)
Ability of countries/Severity of outbreaks/Ethical responsibility
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ut how inclusive its people
Comparison of
importance between economic growth and equality
4. To what extent should the government be blamed for poverty within a country?
(2016 AJC)
Ability of countries/Ethical responsibility
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this a fair comment? (2017 MJC)
Ability of countries/Ethical responsibility/Other causes
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your view? (2019 TJC)
Situation of country/Other responsibilities
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true is this of your society? (2017 AJC)
growth & welfare
Comparison of priority between economic
8. Should developed countries do more to solve global issues? (2016 RVHS)
developed countries/Ethical responsibility/Pros & Cons of intervention
Ability of
9. Should citizen welfare, rather than global issues, be the main concern of
governments? (2019 TMJC)
Comparison between welfare & global issues
10. Assess the importance of contributing to global goals when countries need to
protect their own interests (2020 RVHS)
international affairs
Comparison between domestic and
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Q2. IS IT FAIR TO EXPECT COUNTRIES TO BE WELL -PREPARED
FOR DISEASE OUTBREAKS? (2019 HCI )
OPV 1:
Granted, it may be naïve to expect an expedient response by poorer nations with limited
resources since most of them are unable to afford costly medical equipment and medicines
necessary to combat disease outbreaks.
EG 1: ICU shortages in developing nations
While the US has about 33 intensive care unit (ICU) beds per 100,000 population, the ratio
is around 2 per 100,000 in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in South Asia. In sub-Saharan
Africa, the situation is even more dire: Zambia has 0.6 ICU beds per 100,000, Gambia 0.4,
and Uganda 0.1.
EG 2: Current levels of preparedness
According to the 2021 Global Health Security Index, many developing regions rank the
lowest in the six pillars of health security, with North Korea, Yemen, and Somalia being the
least 3 prepared nations and the US, Australia, and Finland clinching top spots.
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Rebuttal to OPV 1:
☆Shouldn't be excused entirely
That said, while it should be conceded that poorer nations face valid limitations, they also
should not be excused entirely when it comes to their preparedness since growing
international support and strong political will can still allow these nations to attain a
reasonable level of preparedness.
EG 1: World Bank Support
International Development Association (IDA) by the World Bank has proven to be a
In the
aftermath of Ebola, the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE)
Project was created to serve Guinea and 15 other West and Central African countries.
These projects have strongly positioned these countries like Cambodia to face Covid-19
with strong epidemiological surveillance and national health laboratory capacity. IDA was
able to quickly disburse funding, allowing the government to procure critical emergency
response supplies early on. Despite experiencing cases of COVID-19 relatively early in the
pandemic, Cambodia has been relatively unscathed by the pandemic.
EG 2: Cost of Unpreparedness
It is estimated that Covid-19 will cost governments an estimated over US$11 trillion by the
end of 2021, with epidemics costing over US$60 billion per year.
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SP 1:
Furthermore, richer nations with the capacity to brace themselves for such outbreaks must
be expected to be predisposed with the necessary medical equipment, healthcare workers,
and funds.
EG 1: WHO Statistic of Covid-19 Vaccines for richer nations
A 2022 study by the World Health Organisation finds that it only costs high income
countries a 0.8% increase to achieve a 70% vaccination status.
EG 2:
A total of $13.8 billion was allocated for Covid-19 response operations by the Government
in 2021, with $10 billion for medical and emergency operations and supplies.
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SP 2:
Furthermore, governments uphold an inherent responsibility to maintain the well-being of
its citizens, amongst a multitude of other ramifications of a disease outbreak and are thus
reasonably required to be well-fortified for disease outbreaks.
EG 1: Health/Mortality Impact of Covid-19
As of May 2022, over 515 million people have been infected by Covid-19 with the death toll
surging to over 6 million. In addition, Covid-19 can result in lasting health effects such as
long-term breathing problems, heart complications, chronic kidney impairment, stroke,
amongst many others. The health and mortality impacts of Covid-19 alone serve as a
forceful argument for governments to fulfil their innate responsibility to protect the welfare
and survivability of citizens.
EG 2: Economic Impact of Covid-19
The unemployment rate jumped in April 2020 to a level not seen since the 1930s because of
Covid-19. Notably, 59 percent of all jobs lost in the Covid-19 crisis were in industries that
pay low average wages, according to Labour Department employment data. Furthermore,
Black, and Latino workers have experienced far slower job recovery than white workers
with 7.9 percent of Black workers and 5.9 percent of Latino workers being unemployed as
compared to 4.0 percent of white workers, reflecting historic patterns rooted in structural
racism.
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SP 3:
Lastly, it is reasonable for countries to be well-prepared for disease outbreaks since the
history of disease outbreaks have proved to be closely related which makes preparation
more feasible.
EG 1: Relationship between SARS and Covid-19
The coronavirus that causes Covid-19, known as SARS-CoV-2, is closely related to other
coronaviruses, particularly the one that caused the outbreak of SARS in 2003. In fact,
coronavirus core proteins often share upward of 95% to 100% of their nucleic acid or
protein sequences due to their close origins. Had the drug discovery efforts initiated during
the 2003 SARS epidemic been continued and come to fruition, antiviral medications to treat
Covid-19 would have been on the shelf to help contain the pandemic. Unfortunately, those
efforts were abandoned once SARS seemed under control because there was no apparent
market and no infrastructure to support ongoing research.
EG 2: Better data which drives smarter decisions about future pandemics
US Pre
health data and create a National Center for Epidemic Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics
as part of the America Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Better data would help epidemiologists
determine more quickly, for example, that SARS-CoV-2 spreads through the air and that it
can be transmitted by people without symptoms, which can prompt scientists to advocate
sooner for measures such as widespread testing and face masks.
Possible Synthesis:
Ultimately, it would be overly naïve to expect countries to be fully prepared for disease
outbreaks given the vast investment needed, political will, and other pressing objectives that
needs to be fulfilled simultaneously. However, countries need to be forward-thinking and
realise that the cost of unpreparedness far outweighs the cost of preparation and
collectively develop stronger political wills to combat future outbreaks for both developed
and developing nations.
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Q6.
YOUR VIEW? (2019 TJC)
OPV 1:
Granted, detractors to my view may argue that the creation of wealth should be the top
priority of a government since a rise in prosperity would greatly alleviate the plight of those
mired in abject poverty.
the
Kai
EG 1: China
China s approach to poverty reduction has been based on two pillars. The first was broadbased economic transformation to open new economic opportunities and raise average
incomes. Over the past 40 years, the number of people in China with incomes below $1.90
per day the International Poverty Line as defined by the World Bank has fallen by close
to 800 million. With this, China has contributed close to three-quarters of the global
reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty.
EG 2: Tanzania
The Tanzania Development Vision 2025, which aims to enable the country to achieve
middle-income status within the next three years has achieved significant progress in
poverty alleviation with its national poverty rate falling from 34.4 to 26.4 percent between
2007 and 2018.
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Rebuttal OPV 1:
That said, it is more important to recognise how the creation of wealth should not be the
main priority of all countries especially if it worsens the welfare of citizens at the lower end
of the spectrum.
EG 1: Loss of jobs due to automation
The pursuit for wealth often requires greater efficiency with the mass adoption of
technology. Regrettably, this replacement of humans with machines has accelerated in
recent months as companies strive for greater profits at the expense of low-income
workers. Specifically, robots could replace as many as 2 million more workers in
manufacturing alone by 2025, according to a recent paper by economists at MIT and Boston
University.
(Instead of a blind pursuit for wealth, governments should aim towards greater inclusivity in
economies by assimilating low-income workers into the path of technology, even if the path
of prosperity is delayed.)
EG 2: Human cost of prosperity
The entry of multinational corporations (MNCs) has brought significant wealth to countries,
yet the human cost of this prosperity must not be overlooked. A 2020 report by BBC shed
light on how Indian workers in factories supporting MNCs such as Marks & Spencer, Tesco,
and Ralph Lauren have been subjected to exploitative conditions and clearly violates India s
Factories Act which prevents workers from working more than 9 hours a day.
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SP 1:
Furthermore, the key responsibility of governments should not be the creation of wealth as
it often comes at the expense of crucial aspects of humanity. / global objective
.
EG 1:
The collapse of the Amazon rainforest is inevitable if Jair Bolsonaro remains President of
Brazil, academics and environmental activists have warned amid a fresh government assault
on protections for the forest.
Despite evidence that fire, drought and land clearance are pushing the Amazon towards a
point of no return, they say the far-right leader is more interested in placating the powerful
agribusiness lobby and tapping global markets that reward destructive behaviour.
EG 2: India s refusal to condemn Russia s actions to buy Russian oil
India has taken advantage of discounted prices of about $30 per barrel to ramp up oil
imports from Russia at a time when global energy prices have been rising with each barrel
usually costing around $60. While these oil imports do not violate sanctions, India s actions
serve as an indirect support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact.
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SP 2:
Moreover, the pursuit for wealth should not be they key priority of a government as the
relentless pursuit for prosperity has taken a toll on mental and physical health.
EG 1: 9-9-6 in China
According to China's labour laws, a standard workday is eight hours-long, with a maximum
of 44 hours a week. Yet, the gruelling 996 culture has carried on, with the government
taking a hands-off approach. After all, this same work ethic has also been credited as the
driver of economic success for China, who have experienced unprecedented economic
growth of around 10 percent since 1978.
EG 2: Mental Health in Singapore and Hong Kong
In Singapore and Hong Kong, suicide rates among teenagers have escalated sharply of
late, more broadly, The Economist found Generation Z to be "stressed, depressed,
and exam-obsessed", with 70% of respondents considering mental health to be a major
challenge for their generation.
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