Let's face it, metrics like Per Capita Income or Gross Domestic Product, while important, are inherently poor indicators of societal well-being by themselves. Part of the reason the world is in such a mess is an over-focus on the financial as the sole measurement of how we're doing.
If we're going to make different decisions to build a sustainable future, we have to recognize that we're operating in a holistic, interconnected system and take into account a much wider range of factors.
With that in mind, I was delighted when I ran across a more multi-faceted view of measuring quality of life. The Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators are "the result of an extensive six-year study by a multi-disciplinary group of practitioners and scholars from government agencies, for-profit firms, and nonprofit organizations who see the need for more practical and sophisticated metrics of societal conditions."
There are twelve Quality of Life Indicators, offering a much more robust (and accurate) view of well-being. They are (including links to pages with more details about each)...
- Education
- Employment
- Energy
- Environment
- Health
- Human Rights
- Income
- Infrastructure
- National Security
- Public Safety
- Re-Creation
- Shelter
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