Why GDP Became the Biggest Economic Illusion of Our Time
Modern economies rely heavily on GDP as the go-to measure of success, but its flaws are now impossible to ignore. Debt-driven financial activity, asset inflation, and speculation distort what GDP claims to represent, creating a misleading picture of actual productive capacity. From the evolution of Keynesian policy tools to today’s hyper-financialized Western systems, GDP has shifted from a measurement tool to a symbolic comfort blanket. Understanding its limits reveals why so much “growth” isn’t growth at all.