You Are Rich, Why The World GDP Wont Count It
By Madhurie Singh, May 22, 2025
Indians, You Are Already Rich — The World Just Doesn’t Count It Yet
I am unsure how many parents are even thinking about GDP and how it impacts their lives. In a world that measures worth in currency and output, Indian families, you must hear this loud and clear:
You are already rich.
Rich in values, in family bonds, in care, in tradition. Rich in the things that matter most, but the world’s dominant economic measure — GDP — refuses to see.
You share homes across generations. You cook with love, not just ingredients. You raise children and care for elders without charging a single rupee. You save instead of splurging. You build your life around community and contribution, not just consumption. And yet, you’re told you’re “developing.”
Let us break down the lie.
The Hidden Economy of the Indian Family
Imagine this:
- One house shelters parents, grandparents, and children — no rent.
- One kitchen feeds ten — no eating out.
- One washing machine, one fridge, one set of furniture — no waste.
- One or two family members cook and clean — no maids, no nannies.
- Grandparents look after kids — no daycare.
- Elders are cared for at home — no elder care homes.
In GDP terms? That’s almost zero contribution. But in real life? That’s deep, intelligent design — financial efficiency, emotional security, and cultural strength.
The truth is this: if everything you did inside your home was done through paid services, your family would be counted as middle-class or even upper-middle-class by global standards. But because you do it out of love and tradition, the system labels you as “informal,” “non-productive,” or worse — invisible.
What GDP Really Measures
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) measures the total market value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a given year.
In simple terms, if you buy, sell, or spend money, it counts. If you give, share, or save — it doesn’t.
The formula is:
GDP = C + I + G + (X – M)
- C = Consumption
- I = Investment
- G = Government Spending
- X = Exports
- M = Imports
Sounds logical, but it’s extremely flawed.
Why GDP is Flawed
Here’s why GDP gives a false picture of a nation’s health:
1. Ignores Unpaid Work
Homemakers, caregivers, and volunteers — all are invisible. In India, where over 70% of women aged 25 to 60 don’t work for pay but manage homes, this is a massive loss in recorded value.
2. Rewards Destruction, Not Sustainability
- A flood? Cleanup adds to GDP.
- A war? Weapons production boosts GDP.
- Pollution? Health treatments count as GDP.
But the environmental or social damage? Ignored.
3. Doesn’t Measure Well-being or Happiness
GDP doesn’t care if you’re lonely, anxious, overworked, or disconnected. It only cares if you’re spending.
4. Penalises Saving, Celebrates Consumption
If you save money and cook at home, GDP stagnates. If you spend on credit, eat out, and buy things you don’t need, GDP soars.
5. Ignores Cultural Wealth and Emotional Health
India’s strength lies in its traditions, families, rituals, and values — none of which show up in GDP.
Who Created This Faulty Formula — and Why
GDP was designed in the early 20th century to measure industrial output, not human progress. It became dominant post-WWII, especially through institutions like:
- The World Bank
- The IMF
- Western economists and governments
Why? Because it aligned with a consumption-driven, profit-focused economic model. The more you buy, the more “developed” you appear. This favours:
- Multinational corporations (more consumers)
- Loan-giving institutions (more credit)
- Consumerist governments (more taxes)
Meanwhile, cultures like India’s, which emphasised self-reliance, frugality, family-based care, and non-monetised relationships, were seen as “backwards” simply because they didn’t drive consumption.
Who Benefits from This System?
1. Global Corporations
The joint family is bad for business. One fridge, one TV, one kitchen means fewer sales.
2. Credit-Based Economies
A frugal, debt-averse family doesn’t take loans. That’s a loss to banks and credit card companies.
3. Therapy, Wellness, and Pharma Industries
Strong family bonds reduce stress, anxiety, and loneliness. But those are billion-dollar industries in countries with broken families.
4. Daycare and Elder Care Industries
Grandparents doing seva at home means no income for professional care services.
5. Governments Obsessed with Metrics
GDP is a number they can showcase. It doesn’t matter if it represents suffering, debt, or ecological collapse — as long as it’s rising.
What Should Replace GDP?
GDP should not be the only lens through which we measure progress. It must be supplemented — or even replaced — by metrics that actually reflect human and ecological well-being:
1. Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)
Accounts for unpaid labor, inequality, environmental degradation, and crime.
2. Gross National Happiness (GNH)
Bhutan’s model, which focuses on psychological well-being, health, culture, and environment.
3. Wellbeing Economy Indicators
Now adopted by countries like New Zealand, Finland, and Scotland.
4. Time-Use Surveys
These measure how people actually spend their time — including care work, spiritual practice, and community contribution.
How the World Should Rectify GDP Step by Step
- Officially Measure Unpaid Work
- Use surveys to value domestic labor and caregiving.
- Add a satellite account alongside GDP.
- Incorporate Sustainability Metrics
- Carbon footprint, natural capital, and resource usage must be factored in.
- Shift Policy Goals
- From maximizing GDP to maximizing well-being, equity, and resilience.
- Educate Citizens
- Let people know that GDP is not the same as development. Shift the national dialogue.
- Empower Local Economies
- Measure health of communities, not just cities and companies.
What Happens If We Don’t Change
If the world continues to obsess over GDP:
- Debt will grow: People will borrow to maintain lifestyles.
- Mental health will crash: Isolation and emotional fatigue will skyrocket.
- Environment will collapse: Short-term profit will trump long-term survival.
- Cultural erosion will intensify: Traditions, families, and identity will dissolve.
Most dangerously — countries like India will abandon their inner strengths to imitate a model that’s already failing in the West.
Final Words to Indian Families
Dear Indian families,
What you do each day — from cooking a meal to caring for your elders — is an act of economic, emotional, and cultural power.
Don’t let the world reduce you to a GDP statistic.
You are not backward. You are sustainable.
You are not invisible. You are priceless.
You are not behind. You are what the world needs to learn from.
Walk forward with your values intact. Use technology. Use knowledge. Embrace the modern world — but from your foundation, not by uprooting it.
Because when the dust settles, the world will realize:
It is not growth without soul that wins.
It is the family that stands together, eats together, lives together — that truly thrives.
And India? You’ve known that all along.
The time has come to stop apologizing and start leading.
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