Table Of ContentThe
LittLe
b ig
Number
The
LittLe
b ig
Number
How gDP Came to ruLe tHe worLD
aND wHat to Do about it
Dirk PHiLiPseN
Princeton university Press
Princeton and oxford
Copyright © 2015 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
OX20 1TW
press.princeton.edu
Jacket background image: Detail of Stanford’s General Map of the world on Mercator’s projection.
London: Edward Stanford, 1922.
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Philipsen, Dirk, 1959–
The little big number : how GDP came to rule the world and what to do about it / Dirk
Philipsen.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-691-16652-0 (hardback) — ISBN 0-691-16652-8 (hardcover) 1. Gross
domestic product. I. Title.
HC79.I5P515 2015
339.31—dc23
2014044458
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Minion Pro and Gill Sans
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CoNteNts
Acknowledgments vii
introduction: we become what we measure 1
Casting a Spell 9
Exploring a Path 13
1. more, better, Faster: the beginnings 19
Productivity, Growth, and Success 20
Goals and Measures 27
Values and Measures 32
2. the origins of bling: the spirit of economic growth 40
The World of Growth: Refining the Measure 52
Business Accounting Goes National 57
3. the Crucible of Crisis: the great Depression and the
Need for economic indicators 65
4. born from Disaster: the making of a key measure 83
The Challenge 84
The Players 89
The Method 93
The Findings 99
The Big Conundrum: Translating Findings into Action 102
5. Forged in war 107
6. global Domination: the age of gDP 117
For Richer or Poorer 117
A Stunted Priesthood 121
Stopgap Consensus 123
v
vi CONTENTS
Going Global 128
New Rules 130
GDP Junkies 133
Shackled in Fool’s Gold 139
7. today’s abC of gDP 143
It’s an Emperor, but Does It Have Clothes? 152
Why It Matters 157
8. more is Not enough 160
The Little Big Number: Our Report Card for Success 174
Emerging Dissent 178
9. “the People of Plenty are a People of waste” 184
Breaking the Spell 204
10. From alchemy to reason: what if? a thought
experiment 208
Mental Cobwebs 219
One More Time: Simon Kuznets 230
Clearing a Path 236
11. Looking Forward 243
A Daring Vision 250
A Moment of Possibility 265
Appendix A. The Measure as Guide 271
Notes 277
Bibliography 351
Index 389
aCkNowLeDgmeNts
This book was a long time coming. Without an enormous amount of input
and support of lots of people, its very conception would not have been
possible. Its core ideas rest on a rich intellectual tradition of excellent scholar-
ship that is radical in its attempts to decipher the roots of cultural and social
organizing principles. I owe much debt to those mentioned in footnotes and
the bibliography, and there are many more.
Over the course of seven years, the manuscript went through dozens of
drafts, more or less useful experiments, and new starts. Several ideas I con-
sidered downright priceless at one point or another ended up in the trash bin.
Many words put down with great effort proved superfluous or worse in the
way of clear expression.
Every idea has a history. And for it to get developed and brought to light re-
quires an environment that inspires and prods and supports and pushes back
and contributes meaning. Above all people. People who both build context
and are the product of it. People who struggle, design, construct, and decon-
struct. People who, in the process of interacting, create this endlessly rich tap-
estry of experiences that can never be reduced to a simple measure.
A number of wonderful friends helped me throughout this process—
listening, reading, debating, probing, responding, and, without exception, pro-
viding invaluable suggestions. Sections of drafts throughout the years were read
by Peter Wood, John Srygley, Chris Caldwell, Susanne Freytag, Klaus Philipsen,
Larry Goodwyn, Thad Williamson, John Wagner, Niklas Philipsen, Randall
Kramer, Veit Hannemann, Tom Levinson, Tom Nechyba, Bill Chameides, and
students of my “History of Capitalism” course. Thanks so much to all of you.
In the spring of 2013, I finished the last chapter—fi nally a full manuscript.
But then relocation of family, new appointment, and illness prevented comple-
tion. A vital— and very creative— push to pass the last hurdle was initiated by
my colleague Walter Sinnott- Armstrong. He offered his support (not to men-
tion his house) to bring together a group of readers who would spend one full
Saturday discussing the manuscript. Grateful yet also somewhat frightened by
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
the prospect of twelve people taking apart my work, the result was one of the
most intellectually enhancing experiences I’ve ever had. It was also a day of
spirited community among a diverse group of people.
For their time and effort to read the whole manuscript, and for the wide
range of thoughtful, probing, and creative responses, my deep thanks to Wal-
ter Sinnott- Armstrong, Renée Hill, John Srygley, Michaeline Crichlow, Mi-
chael Hardt, Shana Starobin, Bill Greider, Norman Wirzba, Alexa Dilworth,
Mac McCorkle III, Tony Hughes, and Wesley Hogan- Philipsen. Our discussions
lasted deep into the night; my apologies for tired flights home the next day.
Good work requires material support— time, of course, but also money to
pay the bills, allow for research trips, or provide release from classes to teach
or yet another committee meeting to attend. Critical material support for the
research behind this book came from the Mellon Foundation, Duke Univer-
sity’s John Hope Franklin Center, and the National Endowment for the Hu-
manities. I am deeply grateful for their confidence in this project. Particular
thanks goes to Srinivas Aravamudan, who did much to afford me a fantastic
sabbatical experience.
Without the expert advice of archivists who pointed me in the right direc-
tion at the National Archives, the Harvard Archives, and the Library of Con-
gress, I would have missed many a lead. Patiently and kindly, they guided me
through a labyrinth of sources. I can’t thank them enough.
I am very grateful to my editors at Princeton. Special thanks to Seth Ditchik
for adopting and believing in this project; Karen Fortgang and Samantha Nader
for shepherding a large manuscript through the production process with author-
ity and grace; Dimitri Karetnikov for an excellent job with images and graphs;
and Linda Truilo, whose thorough copyediting job I could always trust to catch
those many little errors in style and formatting that creep into a manuscript.
Over the years, I consulted with countless experts and scholars here and
abroad. Some might distance themselves from several of the arguments made
in this book. I learned much from those conversations, yet responsibility for
conclusions drawn lies entirely with me.
Toward the end of the project, a random medical emergency almost
pushed me off the cliff. Pulling me back to safety with two complicated sur-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
geries, I have the kind of special gratitude for Dr. Mark Shapiro, Dr. Michael
Barfield, and their excellent team at Duke University Hospital usually reserved
for mothers— I owe my life to them.
Special thanks also to my friends and colleagues and students at the Kenan
Institute for Ethics at Duke University. Collectively they have created an en-
vironment in which exploration and creative exchange of ideas is both cher-
ished and supported. I am very grateful for that.
My heart- felt appreciation to Leff and Jenny Lefferts, who, with indomita-
ble spirit and hospitality, opened their beautiful home in San Francisco to me
for the last round of frantic edits.
Words don’t always suffice. She listened to me, asked questions, prodded me to
clarify— from the beginning to end of this project. She helped me find sources
and navigate archives. Over and over, she kindly but persistently suggested
cuts to my long-w inded Germanic prose. Despite her own full-t ime job, she
held down the home and was there for our children when I was away on sab-
batical. With all the research in place, she gave me another priceless gift: a
year of WLAMF (Write Like a Mother$*%@#). It came with a certificate, a
mug, a reprieve from household chores, and a deadline: one year later, have a
completed first draft.
After she was appointed to a demanding academic leadership position, she
spent a large part of her first three months on the new job working long hours
before coming to the hospital, finding what little rest there was to be had on an
uncomfortable recliner, lending support and comfort. Her kindness, curiosity,
and open mind continue to inspire me. Her high standards and relentless in-
telligence make me strive, every day, to be a better person. My best friend, my
comrade in struggle, my wife: Wesley Hogan- Philipsen. In deep appreciation
and love, I aspire to be for her what she has been to me.
As the manuscript suggests, I believe that future generations have rights
equal to our own. Conscious or not, the world currently operates under an
organizing principle that fundamentally violates the rights of the young, the
poor, the voiceless, and the as yet unborn. It is to all those, including my four
children Niklas, Shamus, Sven, and Chloë, that I dedicate this book.
