True, but they can realise those desires more easily if they’re available at the market. In fact it’s hard to imagine an area of human interest or endeavour tha

True, but they can realise those desires more easily if they’re available at the market. In fact it’s hard to imagine an area of human interest or endeavour that is not supported by the activities measured by GDP in some way. I’m not saying it’s the only metric we should attend to, or even that it’s a perfect economic metric, but rather that it’s a reasonable headline metric to use. It is only one number, so it cannot express the whole reality of life within a country; but it can convey some sense of the relative opportunities for that country. There is a meaningful and quantifiable difference between living in an economy with a GDP of $45 million (GDP per capita $3,566) and $20 trillion (GDP per capita $64,767).