Should Society Measure a Countrys “Progress” by Other Indicators, Not Just the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?
There are many more important indicators of a nation’s “progress” to consider than its gross domestic product. We are all familiar with nations whose citizens produce many of the world’s consumer goods yet these same people slave for pennies a day, and exist in conditions of squalor and abject poverty. Some of these countries are dictatorships, others are Communist states, but they share one element in common. The rulers, or the government officials, control the wealth earned through the labour of the people. The workers are allowed just enough of the necessities of life to maintain their strength so they can continue to work for the benefit of the leaders. Life for these workers is short, cheap and devoid of most of the pleasures and comforts we take for granted. If the progress of these nations were judged solely by the GDP, they would attain a very high score. This result would be far from the truth and convey to the world a false impression of living conditions for the ordinary per
