Too busy to read?

Metrics are ways of simplifying our world view, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. All metrics are harmful if you give them too much power. GDP is no different. It is not a measure of human progress. Its simplicity makes it a tempting crutch for any politician who is feeling freaked out by the complexities of running a country full of real sentient people and is looking for a way to reduce their anxiety.

GDP goes up if things we used to give and receive for free become chargeable. A country's GDP might well go up if the level of spontaneous kindness were to go down. If friends won't baby sit or look after a frail neighbour, then it becomes a commercial activity. To give another example, the laundered profits from drugs and other crimes show up as GDP.