1. Introduction
Measuring Human Progress
Why Life Satisfaction is replacing Gross Domestic Product in policy evaluation.
For decades, policymakers have relied on economic proxies to measure the success of a nation. However, metrics like Gross Domestic Product (GDP) were designed to track production capacity, not human prosperity.
A pure focus on economic growth ignores the harm that economic activity can do to social relationships and the environment. Therefore, modern policy is shifting toward Subjective Wellbeing—giving policymakers the tools necessary to prioritise human welfare over financial output.
Side Note: The Origins of GDP
Simon Kuznets, who helped develop early national income accounting in the 1930s, explicitly warned against conflating a measure of national income with the welfare of a nation.
Defining Life Satisfaction
Life satisfaction is the cognitive evaluation individuals make about their own life and circumstances. It functions as a cognitive comparison between a person's perceived accomplishments and a set of standards.
Moving Forward
If we agree that human wellbeing should be the target of government policy, the question becomes: how do we aggregate and measure it across millions of citizens?
Next: Benthamite Aggregation