The crux of the question is what is it that we wish to achieve? Measures like Gross National Product (GNP) claim to answer this. We’re expected to be happy when it grows, and worried when it falls. But GNP is actually a very strange measure of anything. It only counts the velocity of the flow of money and stuff through the economy as they change hands in economic transactions. The more money that gets spent, conventional wisdom says, the better off we are.
But are we? If you volunteer at a home for the elderly, you’ve done nothing to increase the GNP. A divorcing cancer patient who gets in a car wreck adds handsomely to the GNP as money goes for insurance, repairs, and medical bills. But is she any better off? Clearly not.
Reframing The Global Economy To Include Happiness – on the effort to shift our measure of social well-being.
Companion read: The Happiness of Pursuit.
-
letsspeakwithoutwords likes this
-
spontaneousbebop reblogged this from explore-blog
-
ninthvalkyrie reblogged this from explore-blog
-
theapparatusissublime reblogged this from explore-blog
-
slightlyvespertine reblogged this from explore-blog
-
alvinpang reblogged this from explore-blog
-
smallpoints reblogged this from explore-blog
-
smallpoints likes this
-
sarbok likes this
-
littlefoxhole likes this
-
seancpullman likes this
-
ausartsonline reblogged this from explore-blog
-
heburnsatthecentreoftime reblogged this from explore-blog
-
revelrousbrigantessa likes this
-
ahugehypocrite reblogged this from thousandmilesfromnowhere
-
theboywhocriedphoenix likes this
-
roadtoavabodha likes this
-
dartharaiz likes this
-
lisafrankstickers likes this
-
stefanom reblogged this from explore-blog
-
alicelovesblog likes this
-
mmelaflaneuse likes this
-
lancebowski likes this
-
calliopean9 likes this
-
personifa reblogged this from explore-blog
-
newiuht reblogged this from explore-blog
-
hayekd likes this
-
glasswritten likes this
-
hallywoods likes this
-
thousandmilesfromnowhere reblogged this from explore-blog
-
missmatches reblogged this from explore-blog
-
cavalierzee likes this
-
pezski reblogged this from explore-blog
-
pairpearpierre reblogged this from explore-blog
-
pairpearpierre likes this
-
fractalnarrative likes this
-
pezski likes this
-
explore-blog posted this
