On Wednesday, June 20th, I attended an event called "Beyond GDP" organized by UNDP, attended by several high level IGO representatives and heads of state, and chaired by UNDP Director Helen Clark. The event explored the emerging trends in measuring national metrics to determine well being that go beyond the narrowly limited but overly used Gross Domestic Product or Gross National Product. The most interesting presentation was by a representative from the Human Development Index, which measures many other metrics to determine the progress and well being of citizens of nations. There was a mention of the Happy Planet Index, which is an even more progressive measurement of well being, but for the most part the dialogue focused on increasing governmental buy-in to alternative measurements for the well being of their societies.The Earth Charter has a definite role to play in helping determine what well being is defined as. The values and principles of the Earth Charter can indicate what humanity values and can guide those trying to measure that well being to better define their metrics. In the end, quantifying what we most value is impossible. There is no number or quantity to express the amount of love we feel for our families, our cultures, or our friends. Justice, security, satisfaction, happiness, faith, care, and respect are all values that we treasure beyond measurement, and that is why the discussion on shifting how we judge our societies' well being must move beyond GDP and strictly economic indicators.
What do you think?
We need to move at warp speed beyond these "emerging trends" to a comprehensive, universal Net Planetary Value (NPV) index that displaces money, taking profiteering and corruption out of the picture. Nothing less will address the crisis humanity faces. http://netplanetaryvalue.wordpress.com/
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