Maximize prosperity, not growth

Societies should reorient policy metrics from GDP growth toward a composite notion of prosperity that includes shared material security, meaningful work, demographic sustainability and resilience to automation shocks. That implies different taxes, welfare design, immigration and industrial policy calibrated for an economy where AI does much production and population may shrink. — Adopting prosperity as the primary metric would reframe debates over immigration, automation, social insurance and industrial policy, altering who benefits from technological change and how governments prioritize investments.