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HDI measures literacy rate. If people can read, they can be more informed consumers of porn and video games. Some people will read smut, given the ability to r
by pw0ncakes 17y ago
HDI measures literacy rate. If people can read, they can be more informed consumers of porn and video games.
Some people will read smut, given the ability to read. That's fine. Some will read logic textbooks and become mathematicians. Also fine. However, it's clearly better for both people to be literate.
- yummyfajitas 17y agoIndeed, improving a single criteria holding all others constant is always an improvement to well being. This i true, but irrelevant. If people choose a good not measured by your index at the expense of a good in the index, it lowers their index value but raises well being. Another example: a food lover might choose to eat delicious pudding rather than playing soccer. If the index includes health but excludes hedonic pleasure from food (which I believe the HDI does), the food lover's choice might reduce HDI in spite of improving his well being. It's much the same problem as with a man marrying his maid; utility and well being increases but the index (GDP in that case) decreases.