It’s about time that economists are held responsible
for the mess we are in. They are foot shoulders of flawed economic system. They are the enablers
of flawed value systems. I am not into economics and have trust deficit but I do
follow Nobel laureate economists like Krugman, Stiglitz, Thaler as also Piketty on twitter to
get some insights, also watched Kahneman on youtube, so on but they rarely express
concern for these serious flaws or any insights despite being erudite (I met
Elinor Ostrom in Bangalore many years back, she had valuable understanding on “tragedy of
commons”). Few hours back António Guterres the UN Secretary General tweeted
that “The planet's resources still do not figure in
countries’ calculations of wealth. The current system is weighted towards
destruction, not preservation. The world must reconsider how GDP is calculated,
reflecting nature's true value in all policies, plans and economic systems”.
It is therefore important that economists take the responsibility. They need to
have an international conference or an important addition to Glasgow to sort out
how to define growth. The present GDP led development is going nowhere. They need
to factor in nature, and help arrive at an economic system that nurtures life. There
is no point having big theories if it is only fueling destruction and misery. From
Schumacher (Small is beautiful) to Raworth (Doughnut economy) and many have provided
insights and templates to work on.
Footnote:
About two and half decades back while sitting on the beach in Kochi watching sunset I had
a discussion about GDP with a friend. Later I scribbled a poem to express the absurdity I felt titled “GDP and bhelpuri”
(lost the copy, it was published few times, quite a naïve attempt). The world hasn’t changed much in
its understanding. The sunset is as beautiful, and the dear friend died in an
accident. And after all these years I watch sunset with same awe but a
creeping sense of anguish and despair.
