One of the countless changes that the Covid-19 (SARS-Cov-2) pandemic will cause in the world will be the way in which we measure the economic health of nations. It will become increasingly evident, especially in the developing world, that GDP measures the size of the economy, but not necessarily the prosperity or the progress of a country. Not only that, but an exaggerated emphasis on using only GDP and economic gains to measure development leads to ignoring the negative effects that GDP has on society. It causes deep distortions in the design of public policies that attempt to alleviate basic social needs, especially in the case of emerging economies.
Counterproductivity: a new category essential for analysis
We owe it to Ivan Illich the creation of one of the most important categories of analysis of our time: the concept of counterproductivity. Counterproductivity describes a phenomenon typical of unregulated markets and late post-industrialization. It points to the fact that, after crossing a certain threshold, institutions, tools, and even economic activity produce negative effects that run contrary to what was originally expected to be gained from such institutions, tools or activities.
Illich presented transport as an example of counterproductivity. While originally designed to improve mobility, once a certain limit is reached motorized transport not only fails to reduce, but instead increases the amount of social time dedicated to mobility. The invention of the automobile also led to a certain kind of urban design which, in turn, eliminated the autonomous act of transporting oneself using one's own two feet. If the intention of the automobile was to increase our autonomy of transport, it ended up being the exact opposite.
