Rethinking Economic Metrics in the Cold War Era

This chapter explores the contrasting economic measures employed by the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War, focusing on John F. Kennedy's and Robert F. Kennedy's critiques of GDP. It highlights the limitations of GDP as a metric for assessing a nation's well-being, emphasizing overlooked societal values and the paradoxes of material growth. The discussion advocates for a broader understanding of progress and introduces the concept of the degrowth movement in relation to contemporary environmental challenges.