Gross domestic product and well-being

No economist believes that maximi s ing GDP ( gross domestic product) is an acceptable economic policy goal. What must be maximised is well-being, which is different from GDP because of: Inequality (income does not have the same utility or the same effect on well-being) depending on the income level; Externalities generated by production: they are usually negative (climate, redundancies, suffering at work, etc.), but they can also be positive (gains in safety, time gains, health, etc.). It would obviously be practical to have a quantified measure (in monetary terms) of well-being on which there is a consensus. But we have to stop saying that economists have a cult of GDP.