We Should Have Launched A Pre-Emptive War On GDP

What is the biggest threat to our country, or maybe the entire world? Is it terrorism? No. Global warming? No (unless your a penguin). Venezuela and the reemergence of socialism (did it ever really leave?)? No.

Is it....GDP? YES! Especially if you live in the third world, and every development strategy that has been forced upon your poor country has been solely focused on the unceasing growth of this meaningless figure. When the majority of your economy is agrarian, barter-based, or completely informal, what does the value of all "final goods and services produced in a country within a certain time period" (in the words of Mankiw) matter? With no real relevance to quality of life, the fanatic pursuit of GDP growth has led to negative growth in many countries, while those who have succeeded in increasing their GDP see little of the newly created wealth distributed to those who need it the most (and who probably do most of the work). Instead of launching a preemptive war in Iraq, we should have launched a preemptive war on stupid social welfare measurements. It probably would have cost less then a trillion dollars, and it probably would have resulted in a lot more good (and a better political word image). breathe

What really got me going on this topic was reading a post about China and how their country has grown at a fantastic pace (using GDP measurements). What many China-fearers forget is that the majority of the country still lives in abject poverty and have seen no real improvements in quality of life in the last 20 years (unless toxic rivers and polluted air count as improvements).