Some people believe that in order to thrive a society must put its own overall success before the well being of its individual citizens Others believe that the well being of a society can only be measured by the general welfare of all its people

The author contrasts two viewpoints about the well-being of the people. While some recognize the well-being of a society as an individualistic issue, the others believe that the well-being only can be determined generally. Consider the both views in what follows, and then my point would be delineated.

To begin with, there are those who believe that the well-being of a society is rather an individual matter. It is upon the each person to have the well-being by attaining a decent education and holding a decent job to come up with sufficient money in order to have a satisfying life. We see that even in the societies with the notably high general incomes, there are people who do not have the well-being because of their own lack of resourcefulness, their own laziness and many other personal shortcomings.

Resting on the fact that the well-being has some individual dimensions, these people believe also that society should prioritize the achievements of society over the well-being of the individual citizens. It is with this approach that society can thrive. Otherwise, should we care too much for every individual who because of his or her shortcomings in life lags behind the others, the society may not thrive. We cannot care for the people who are not caring for themselves, these people believe.

At the same time, on the other side of the spectrum of opinions, people believe that the well-being of society can just be generally assessed by people's well-fare. Think about a society where some people are suffering from overweight, while some are starving. Such a distance between the economic classes of a society, these people believe, defies any well-being to be ascribed to that society. Hence there should be an average of the well-fare of whole societal classes in order to assess the well-being.

Finally, as far as I’m concerned, the well-being of people is the combination of the both views above. Neither we should sacrifice the possible successes of a society to pamper the lazy individuals lagging behind the others, nor should the society forget the well-fare of public for the sake of its successes. The solutions would be solved by the participation of both the society and individuals; society should provide the people with the infrastructures such as job availability, and then it is the individuals who should earn those jobs in order to gain the well-fare. By this approach the society provides grounds for the people to fulfill their life, and then it also can seek its successes.

In short, as discussed, the well-being of a society can be measured both individually and generally. A successful society which also has the well-being in it, can be ushered in by participation of both the individuals and the society.