The Origin and Limitations of GDP as a Measure of Economy

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In 1934, economists were asked by Congress to explain the economy, leading to the creation of GDP. However, GDP only measures monetary output and fails to account for unpaid work or the distribution and quality of goods. This means that activities like women's unpaid care work and the negative impacts of war and environmental degradation are not considered in GDP calculations.

Capitalism isn’t natural, was never inevitable, and endless growth is killing Earth. The final episode of “Blame Capitalism” examines the degrowth movement, whose proponents call to end capitalism as we know it.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Haleema Shah and Laura Bullard, engineered by David Herman with original music by Jon Ehrens, and hosted by Noel King. Additional editorial support from Jolie Myers and Miranda Kennedy.

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