Michael Green’s video is about the Social Progress Index; a new measurement that proposes to replace GDP in measuring the progress of nations and societies. According to Green, the GDP is flawed and cannot be used to address the challenges of the 21st century since it was developed to address the economic challenges of the 20th century. Nevertheless, GDP has been an effective tool for measuring the economic performance of nations so far.
Unfortunately, it does not measure the real success of nations because it has no parameters for measuring justice and fairness, environmental status, and the general happiness of the people. A nation may be performing well economically but its citizens live in anger, fear, and conflict and its environment seriously degraded. Such a nation cannot be said to be successful. However, by relying solely on GDP, such nations may be seen to be performing well.
Today, the world boasts of new advanced technology that can be used to collect data for measuring the real success of nations but lacks a reliable framework for doing so. Green proposes that the Social Progressive Index can be a valuable tool in solving this problem. The framework takes into account three dimensions in measuring the success of nations. The first dimension is basic human needs which include shelter, personal safety, water and sanitation, nutrition and basic medical care.
The second dimension is that of foundation of wellbeing which includes education, access to information and communications, health and wellness, and ecosystem sustainability. The third dimension is that of opportunity which includes personal rights, personal freedom and choice, tolerance and inclusion, and access to higher education. A careful scrutiny of Green’s dimensions shows that the framework is concerned with the creation of an enabling environment for people to succeed, the provision of relevant training to equip the people so that they can take advantage of the created opportunities, and the provision of basic needs. If used appropriately, the 12 components of the Social Progress Index can be effective tools for measuring a nation’s success in an inclusive and sustainable way.
What really defines the success of a nation? In my opinion, the success of a nation relies on the success of its citizens. A country can only be said to be successful if its citizens feel secure, have access to basic amenities, live in harmony, and are empowered. Therefore, the very foundation of national success is personal success. GDP shows that a nation is successful but does not show who in the nation is successful. It is therefore possible for a nation to be considered successful by the GDP regime when in real sense its wealth is in the hands of a few individuals while the rest languish in poverty, which is unfair.
According to my understanding of the Social Progress Index, justice and fairness are some of the core requirements for national success. Therefore, nations that have unjust systems, lack freedom, have seriously degraded environments, are ravaged by conflicts and have a wide gap between the rich and the poor should not be considered successful. I therefore agree with Green’s claim that the GDP is flawed and should not be used to address the challenges of this century. Nations need exhaustive instruments such as the Social Progressive Index to measure real success.