Pam and Russ Martens — Report: Measured for Social Progress, U.S. Is a Second-Tier Nation

Not an area of concern for the US.

This morning the annual Social Progress Index and report were released, measuring 128 countries based on Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity. The United States ranked 18 and was placed in a “second tier” status. The report noted: “Traditional measures of national income, such as GDP per capita, fail to capture the overall progress of societies.”
On the component measuring health and wellness, the report found that the U.S. “performs far below countries at the same level of GDP per capita, registering relative weaknesses on all indicators in the component.” On the component measuring tolerance and inclusion, the researchers found that the U.S. “ranks just 23 in the world across this component, placing it behind less prosperous countries including Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Costa Rica.”

Cue: USA!, USA!, USA! We are Number One!

How did this happen?

The research findings from the Social Progress Index are yet another embarrassing black eye to the standing of America on the world stage — as billionaires move to consolidate their power in Washington.

What is social progress anyway?

The study defines social progress as follows:

“Social progress is the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens and communities to enhance and sustain the quality of their lives, and create the conditions for all individuals to reach their full potential.”

Creating the conditions for all to reach their full potential is the basis for liberalism. The foundation of liberalism is freedom from constraint and freedom to chose in order to create the conditions necessary to use freedom for self-development as an individual and self-determination as a people.

Freedom from, freedom to, and freedom for are the sine qua non of traditional liberalism based on the Western intellectual tradition that began with the ancient Greeks.

Wall Street On Parade

Report: Measured for Social Progress, U.S. Is a Second-Tier Nation

Pam Martens and Russ Martens

Michael Porter — Why Social Progress Matters

Economic growth has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and improved the lives of many more over the last half-century. Yet it is increasingly evident that a model of human development based on economic progress alone is incomplete. A society which fails to address basic human needs, equip citizens to improve their quality of life, protect the environment, and provide opportunity for many of its citizens is not succeeding. Inclusive growth requires both economic and social progress....

Economics is about efficiency of means and policy is about effectiveness of means to achieve prioritized and integrated objectives. An economy is the material life-support system for a society. The economy exists for the society and not vice versa.

Project Syndicate
Why Social Progress Matters

Michael Porter | Professor at Harvard Business Schoo and chairman of the Advisory Board to the Social Progress Imperative.