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an intentional measure: 01

4/11/2016

3 Comments

 
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i'm reading stuffocation by james wallman.  there is much to spark interest there, but what has me thinking today is the chapter about how gross domestic product is no longer an accurate reading of nations' states of well-being.  measuring GDP was useful during the great depression and subsequently after WW2.  the state of our economy needed special attention, and its growth somewhat accurately reflected the health of society for a time.  

it cannot be expected that economies will grow steadily indefinitely into the future, however, and we cannot depend on consuming ourselves into becoming a healthy society.  there is a point at which more stuff is no longer better.

experts are proposing different measures of health of nations based on varying statistics.  it sounds much more appealing and accurate to measure happiness or life satisfaction rather than consumption levels.  from these improved measures we could read health levels...job satisfaction...education availability...maternity care and leave policies...health care availability...and then work to improve them. 

the quote that rolled over and over in my mind was this one from joseph stiglitz: "what we measure affects what we do."

this is a crucial statement in this conversation.  we know it to be the case.  we experienced GDP as the measure of our economy's (and therefor our countries') health in recent years as we heard presidents and prime ministers encourage shopping as a healthy response to the 911 attacks and the recession.  was that really what we needed?  

we can certainly influence our society as a whole to rethink what we want the measure to be...but only after we've decided for ourselves, what measure we will use in our own families.

"what we measure affects what we do."  as a family we need to sit down and discuss how we want to measure our family's health and well-being.  if we do not take the time to discuss it...or decide it...consuming and stuff will eagerly fill the gap.  it is the default today.  i need to take the time to thoughtfully consider my answer...and to listen to the thoughts of my husband and girls on this topic.  i know that i do not want how much stuff we have...or how big and nice a house we have...or even how great of vacations we have...to be our measure.  the book proposes experiences be the measure, but i reject that as well.  it is just a different sort of consuming.

the first step is to figure this out...what will my measure be?  only then can i decide the way forward.

any thoughts?

love,
jane
3 Comments
Kari
4/11/2016 01:20:15 pm

No helpful thoughts. But I was struck by your comment about experiences being just a different sort of consuming. Thank you. You put your finger right on what's been bothering me about all the articles telling us to go for experiences rather than shopping.

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Julie link
4/13/2016 09:35:47 am

Kari and Jane - I too have been thinking lately about the idea of replacing consumption with experiences. Paying for experiences (such as trips, meals out, entertainment, etc.) can just be another means of soothing the perceived need for consumption. I wonder if well-being is best measured by contentment and the happiness that results from finding that place. I'm not sure there's a real ruler for measuring contentment, at least not for the nation, but we can at least strive for that individually. Great thoughts and discussion!

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jane link
4/13/2016 04:48:40 pm

i agree that contentment is the measure we should be after. we don't have to keep spending money for that. :) ...and experiences are great...but only if we include things like laying in the shade reading a good book...or eating the first tomato from the garden...you know? :)

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