2017 KS Bull Issue 1

KS Bull 2017 Issue 1 The views expressed in each essay are purely for the academic purposes of crafting a viable argumentative response. They do not necessarily reflect the personal opinions of any student or staff member, nor do they necessarily represent the perspective(s) of Raffles Institution. No portion of this collection may be reproduced or shared for any reason and by any means whatsoever.

KS Bull 2017 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 2 CONTENTS 2016 Year 6 GP Prelim 1 „Governments are powerless to deal with the conflicts of today.‟ Discuss. Lee Yuan | 16S06E 4 2 „Governments are powerless to deal with the conflicts of today.‟ Discuss. Freda Mah Cheng Yee | 16S03B 9 3 Does competitive sport always contribute to greater harmony and understanding? Melvin Loy Meng Tiang | 16S06D 13 4 Examine the extent to which one country‟s intervention in another country‟s problems is justified. Leong Zhiming | 16S03L 17 5 „In the modern world, religion divides rather than it unites.‟ Discuss. Angela Tham | 16S03D 22 6 Paper 2 – Passage 26 7 Paper 2 – AQ Response Chong Ya Wen Michele | 16S06B 28 8 Paper 2 – AQ Response Sanjna Nilesh Nerurkar | 16S06P 30 2016 Year 5 KI Promo 9 „Mathematics is just a game played according to certain rules; it is ultimately meaningless.‟ How far do you agree? Tan Xin Hwee | 17A13A 32 10 „Mathematics is just a game played according to certain rules; it is ultimately meaningless.‟ How far do you agree? Nistala Rishi | 17S03N 36 11 Paper 2, Section A – Passage 41 12 Paper 2, Section A – Response Joey Lee Jia Yi | 17S03L 43

KS Bull 2017 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 3 13 Paper 2, Section A – Response Zhou Xiao Jian | 17S03N 46 2017 Year 6 GP CT 1 14 Consider the consequences if all art museums and art galleries in your country were closed down. Feng Yu Chen | 17A01D 49 15 „The fight for gender equality is far from ov er; in fact, it has just begun.‟ Discuss. Chloe Young | 17S03N 53 16 „Migration should be encouraged in today‟s world.‟ Discuss. Yeo Jiong Han | 17S06K 57 17 „Video games do much more than entertain.‟ How far is this true today? Vanessa Chuang Zhen Xuan | 17S06C 61 2016 Year 5 GP Promo 18 How far do you agree that freedom has been destructive for society? Kavya Sankari Sundar | 17S03D 65 19 How far should technological developments be regulated? Anna Cheang Xin Hui | 17S07D 70 20 Paper 2 – Passage 75 21 Paper 2 – AQ Response Clara Keng Hui Lin | 17S06E 78 2016 KI Year 5 CT 1 22 Critically assess the view that we cannot be sure of anything. Tan Xin Hwee | 17A13A 80 23 Critically assess the view that we cannot be sure of anything. Nistala Rishi | 17S03N 85 Editorial Team 90

KS Bull 2017 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 4 1 2016 | Y6 | GP Prelim | Paper 1 Lee Yuan | 16S06E „Governments are powerless to deal with the conflicts of today.‟ Discuss. Even though the modern era has seen fewer major skirmishes on the level of the world wars, conflicts about in our ever -divisive environment today. As the world becomes more globalised, disagreements have emerged through the fault lines of our society, pitt ing races against each other, as is the case in Myanmar, with the majority Burmese community turning on the Rohingyas. This has exposed fundamental differences between ideologies and beliefs that threaten to descend into bedlam, such as the left -right slit that has risen to prominence in the United States. Indeed, it can be seen that governments today are mostly helpless in dealing with our fundamental differences, and have no means of addressing society‘s disagreements and conflicts. Our leaders and bureaucracies are remnants of a past time, and no longer have the ability to adapt to the rapidly -changing environment of today‘s world. Unless governments can break out of their current, rigid structures and emerge with a new place in the people‘s psyche, governments will remain helpless in the face of our modern disagreements. It must, first and foremost, be conceded that the government remains one of the most powerful institutions on this planet. The government of a country is essentially the puppet-master behind the workings of the state, as most leaders can bend national activity and opinion to their will. The United States federal government, for instance, has relatively limited powers compared to institutions such as the state assemblies which govern individual states, but it is still able to harness the full might and will of the American people to destructive effect, as demonstrated in its repeated annihilation of its enemies in World Wars I and II. The military -industrial complex has been a key too l in major governments‘ toolboxes, one which has the power to end military conflicts once and for all. In more recent terms, this has emerged in the United States‘ manipulation of global events – it was able to stop the Israelis‘ offensive in the Arab -Israeli War of 1973 1, and could respond to the Iraqis‘ invasion of 1 Teacher’s comment: This was in fact the Yom Kippur War, which ended in a stalemate

KS Bull 2017 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 5 Kuwait with devastating effect. Evidently, governments have an overbearing capacity to harness the resources of a nation towards a common cause, one of which has been the resolution of armed co nflict around the world. Moreover, governments have a unique legitimacy that most other institutions do not, mostly arising due to the fact that a vast majority of national leaders today were democratically elected. These enable governments to quell disagr eement or stifle violence where they are unwarranted, as did the German government when it (momentarily) stopped the quibbling amongst European states on the issue of the refugee crisis. Even the world‘s richest men cannot claim to have a plurality of nati onal support and might: if governments are powerless today, who else can be more powerful? Therefore, the government‘s might appears to render it power to stop or shape the conflicts the world is experiencing today. It has also been said that governments have in fact become more powerful with respect to dealing with our disagreements and skirmishes, as countries now have the ability to band together to solve international problems or to direct the power of many states towards a conflict in a country. The U nited Nations, comprising governments from all over the world, has used peacekeeping forces to maintain order and restore peace in conflict -ridden regions such as Sub -Saharan Africa. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, on the other hand, a regional intergovernmental body, has helped mediate international disagreements in the South China Sea. By uniting around a common cause, governments have a force multiplier that maximises their power in dealing with today‘s unique transnational problems. With the full weight of international support, governments have become ever more able in resolving or ameliorating the effects of our modern conflicts. Thus, it seems as though governments have developed new, effective tools to address our current issues. However, such a view is overly optimistic, as governments in fact have no means of addressing current conflicts in an adequate manner. Today‘s conflicts do not solely exist in the national realm; there are conflicts brewing in our fundamental social fabric as wel l. Conflicts such as inter -racial violence experienced between black and radical white supremacist gro