"What society has thought to be its greatest social, political, and individual achievement
s have often resulted in the greatest discontent."I strongly agree that great achievements
often lead to great discontent. In fact, I would assert more specifically that great indi
vidual achievements can cause discontent for the individual achiever or for the society im
pacted by the achievement, or both. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that whet
her a great achievement causes great discontent can depend on one's personal perspective,
as well as the perspective of time.With respect to individual achievements, great achiever
s are by nature ambitious people and therefore tend to be dissatisfied and discontent with
their accomplishments—no matter how great. Great athletes are compelled to try to better
their record-breaking performances; great artists and musicians typically claim that their
greatest work will be their next one--a sign of personal discontent. And many child prodi
gies, especially those who achieve some measure of fame early in life, later suffer psycho
logical discontent for having "peaked" so early. Perhaps the paradigmatic modern example o
f a great achiever's discontent was Einstein, whose theoretical breakthroughs in physics o
nly raised new theoretical conundrums which Einstein himself recognized and spent the las
t twenty years of his life struggling unsuccessfully to solve.Individual achievements can
often result in discontent on a societal level. The great achievement of the individual sc
ientists responsible for the success of the Manhattan Project resulted in worldwide anxiet
y over the threat of nuclear annihilation--a form of discontent with which the world's den
izens will forever be forced to cope. Even individual achievements that at first glance wo
uld appear to have benefited society turn out to be causes of great iscontent. Consider th
e invention of the automobile, along with the innovations in manufacturing processes and m
aterials that made mass production possible. As a result we have become a society enslaved
to our cars, relying on them as crutches not only for transportation but also for affordi
ng us a false sense of socioeconomic status. Moreover, the development of assembly-line ma
nufacturing has served to alienate workers from their work, which many psychologists agree
causes a great deal of personal discontent.Turning from individual achievements to societ
al, including political, achievements, the extent to which great achievements have caused
great discontent often depends on one's perspective. Consider, for example, America's spir
it of Manifest Destiny during the 19th Century, or British Imperialism over the span of se
veral centuries. From the perspective of an Imperialist, conquering other lands and people
s might be viewed as an unqualified success. However, from the viewpoint of the indigenous
peoples who suffer at the hands of Imperialists, these so-called "achievements" are the s
ource of widespread oppression and misery, and in turn discontent, to which any observant
Native American or South African native could attest. The extent to which great sociopolit
ical achievements have caused great discontent also depends on the perspective of time. Fo
r example, F.D.R.'s New Deal was and still is considered by many to be one of the greatest
social achievements of the 20th Century. However, we are just now beginning to realize th
at the social-security system that was an integral part of F.D.R.'s social program will so
on result in great discontent among those workers currently paying into the system but unl
ikely to see any benefits after they retire.To sum up, I agree that great achievements, bo
th individual and sociopolitical, often result in great discontent. Moreover, great indivi
dual achievements can result in discontent for both the individual achiever and the societ
y impacted by the achievement. Nevertheless, in measuring the extent of discontent, we mus
t account for varying personal and political perspectives as well as different time perspe
ctives.