Thing is GDP is a pretty useless measure of quality of life for most people in developed countries. Heck, it’s really not that good for a lot of developing countries either. There are plenty of ways to boost GDP that actually worsen people’s lives, and equally there are plenty of non GDP contributing activities that dramatically improve the quality of life of people.
I’m not trying to imply that GDP improves people’s lives inherently, but simply that it means much, much more than ‘rich peoples investments’. “The GDP has increased!” should be a call for “Now we must ensure that the gains are equitably redistributed”, not that it means nothing except a benefit for the elite. GDP largely represents actual improvements in production of goods and provision of services, and the capabilities to do so, both organizational and material.
Yeah that’s what he said.
Yeah, goods and services, well known for having no utility beyond creating wealth for the elite.
Thing is GDP is a pretty useless measure of quality of life for most people in developed countries. Heck, it’s really not that good for a lot of developing countries either. There are plenty of ways to boost GDP that actually worsen people’s lives, and equally there are plenty of non GDP contributing activities that dramatically improve the quality of life of people.
I’m not trying to imply that GDP improves people’s lives inherently, but simply that it means much, much more than ‘rich peoples investments’. “The GDP has increased!” should be a call for “Now we must ensure that the gains are equitably redistributed”, not that it means nothing except a benefit for the elite. GDP largely represents actual improvements in production of goods and provision of services, and the capabilities to do so, both organizational and material.