In between my hair-raising and hair-pulling
adventures, I do a lot of reading. Actually, I try to read while waiting in
line, too. It’s one of the easiest ways to multi-task.
I just read a really thought-provoking
article, "If the GDP Is Up, Why Is America Down?" published in 1995, and I think it will resonate with most Americans. If nothing else it
has helped me finally be able to articulate why I hate Christmas and, more
broadly, why I find America
to be so miserable despite all the great things it has going for it.
I’ve read a few books recently about economics,
and at various points the authors claim that painful or damaging activities and
events are ok or possibly even good for us, but my gut rejects these
assertions. For example, the authors insist that, in the big picture, job
losses in one’s home country due to company relocation overseas is actually
good in the long run. But the little voice in my head kept saying, “no, it’s
not!” Now I understand why. These economists’/authors’ rationale is entirely
based on the current measure of GDP, which as this article explains does not
value the social fabric of society nor environmental goods and services that
are being destroyed at an ever increasing rate in the never-ending pursuit of
economic growth.
“The GDP is simply a gross measure of
market activity, of money changing hands. It makes no distinction whatsoever
between the desirable and the undesirable, or costs and gain. … As a result the
GDP not only masks the breakdown of the social structure and the natural
habitat upon which the economy--and life itself--ultimately depend; worse, it actually portrays such breakdown as
economic gain.” Emphasis added.
The article goes on to pose such questions
as “Is there a difference between mere monetary transactions and a genuine
addition to a nation's well being?” I think there is. Do you?
In my humble opinion, the obesity,
depression, and prescription drug use rates in America are indicators that
something fundamental is wrong. Haven’t you ever wondered why poor countries
are consistently rated as happier than many wealthy countries? By realizing how
GDP is measured, where “only transactions involving money … count in the
national reckoning” and accepting that wealthy countries have made sacrifices
to achieve “developed” status, it suddenly makes sense. Poor countries haven’t
destroyed their environmental and social foundations yet.
Now let me offer one tiny anecdote. I was
at a small dinner party the other night, celebrating a friend’s birthday. There
were 9 adults present all under the age of 50. It struck me later that during
the course of the evening nobody made or answered a single cell phone call. Nobody
sent or read any text messages. Nobody went on Facebook or anywhere else on the
world wide web. And we hung out for several hours. I would venture to say this
would be unprecedented in America
in this day and age. Yes, all our cell phones were on, had coverage and battery
life, and we all had friends and loved ones who were not present. Yet we did
not feel the need to communicate with anyone who wasn’t there.
After this realization, I will no longer
complain about the exorbitant calling and texting rates in Swaziland because
at the end of the day it ensures that people continue to do more talking
face-to-face. We use our phones to get together and then have conversations in
person. The results? Well, no matter how stressed out I’ve been about things
here, every time I visit the US
everyone says they have never seen me so happy and relaxed. And no, it's not because I'm back in the US.
I just want to add one more quote from the
article for you to think about. Two major categories have been excluded from
the measure of GDP, “the functions of family and community on the one hand, and
the natural habitat on the other. Both are crucial to economic well-being. But
because the services they perform are outside the price system, they have been
invisible in our national accounting.”
What impact has this had on your social life, your well-being and your
health? If you’d like to read the whole article, the link is available at the bottom of the page.
