It is fashionable in public policy circles to suggest that a chief object of such policy should be to promote “happiness” among the public and that we should therefore be less concerned with measures of economic growth than with measures of happiness in determining what policies to pursue.
Thus when Pierre Trudeau once mused that we should obsess less about GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and more about NSB (Net Socfial Benefit) he was lionised as a great philosopher
There may be some truth in this idea, but not all that much. In fact as I demonstrate in my column for the Ottawa Citizen and other Postmedia newspapers, happiness is a slippery concept that often means promoting the happiness of some immediately causes the unhappiness of others.
While GDP may have its flaws, at least it measures something objective, and there are few people who would argue that they would like less rather than more of whatever it is they want (whether parks, or environmental protection or toasters or airplanes or hospitals or public transit). GDP measures our production of the means that each of us needs to pursue our own vision of happiness, and that is perhaps the best we can do….
