With So Much Drama in the GDP…
by Matt B. on February 7, 2010
RFK on the GDP:
“Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.”
Harvard economist Greg Mankiw responds: “GDP does not take account of our intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom, or devotion to country, but all of these laudable attributes are easier to foster when people are less concerned about being able to afford the material necessities of life. In short, GDP does not directly measure those things that make life worthwhile, but it does measure our ability to obtain the inputs into a worthwhile life.”
Mankiw’s view seems overly general. Yes, GDP can measure our ability to obtain the material necessities, but what does it measure once we’ve moved beyond that basic standard of living? Again, Robert Kennedy:
“Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product … if we should judge America by that – counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.”
Too often, our public discourse treats GDP as a proxy for the health of our economy (and by extension, of the nation itself). But GDP only measures the size of our economy – it does not measure the depth of the moral vision that ultimately structures that economy, nor the extent to which that economy allows individuals the capacity to flourish. Thankfully, other approaches are emerging.
With So Much Drama in the GDP…
by Matt B. on February 7, 2010
RFK on the GDP:
“Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.”
Harvard economist Greg Mankiw responds: “GDP does not take account of our intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom, or devotion to country, but all of these laudable attributes are easier to foster when people are less concerned about being able to afford the material necessities of life. In short, GDP does not directly measure those things that make life worthwhile, but it does measure our ability to obtain the inputs into a worthwhile life.”
Mankiw’s view seems overly general. Yes, GDP can measure our ability to obtain the material necessities, but what does it measure once we’ve moved beyond that basic standard of living? Again, Robert Kennedy:
“Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product … if we should judge America by that – counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.”
Too often, our public discourse treats GDP as a proxy for the health of our economy (and by extension, of the nation itself). But GDP only measures the size of our economy – it does not measure the depth of the moral vision that ultimately structures that economy, nor the extent to which that economy allows individuals the capacity to flourish. Thankfully, other approaches are emerging.