There is a movement to replace GDP as a statistical measure of national success and well-being. In “The Rise and Fall of GDP,” that appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Jon Gertner describes this effort. Gertner writes about the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) developing a “key national indicators” system that will be available online. (Last year I spoke at the GAO’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. about The Connection Culture: A New Source of Competitive Advantage.) The article goes on to say that “interpersonal connectedness” is one of the components being considered.
Including connection as a component in a measure of national success would be wise. What’s measured is what gets done. David Brooks, also of The New York Times, effectively supports my view. He argued in “The Limits of Policy,” that it would be wise for government leaders to “try to use policy to strengthen relationships.”
