Yeah I agree. The people who criticize such metrics backed statements that "it's getting better" say that those same metrics are often subject to Goodhart’s La

Yeah I agree. The people who criticize such metrics backed statements that "it's getting better" say that those same metrics are often subject to Goodhart’s Law dynamics[0], fudging and outright lying with numbers. If you subtract China out of many of these numbers, it's the same or worse in many cases. They then cite things how calories per person in India has actually dropped compared to a few decades ago for example, and it's not because they are a developed country that learned to let off the ice cream, but more Indians are suffering malnutrition in the past. Or how the things that are cheaper are nice optionals and the necessities of life are becoming more unattainable, like the food issue in India. India might have less 'poverty', but is it just a measurement error, on purpose or not? [0] When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.