So, there’s no clean chart for GDP per capita on that site, which is a better metric for wealth level than raw GDP.
Also, I haven’t seen any data that accounts for uncompensated labor (eg sewing your own clothes; gleaning your own wheat; or any of the other myriad pre-industrial activities. Plus child care, cooking, cleaning, etc. that continue to be mostly uncompensated today, but less so than in the past). In the toy example, if I pay you $100 to do my laundry (that would cost me $120 in time to do myself, but only costs you $80 in time) and you pay me $100 to clean your house (which would cost you $120 and me $80), GDP goes up by $200 but we are no better off than if we had exchanged chores without payment, and only $80 better off than if we had continued to do all our own work. Since industrialization has made a lot more things into cash transactions than pre-industrial, that implies that the headline GDP growth overstates the actual wealth increase.
So, there’s no clean chart for GDP per capita on that site, which is a better metric for wealth level than raw GDP.
Also, I haven’t seen any data that accounts for uncompensated labor (eg sewing your own clothes; gleaning your own wheat; or any of the other myriad pre-industrial activities. Plus child care, cooking, cleaning, etc. that continue to be mostly uncompensated today, but less so than in the past). In the toy example, if I pay you $100 to do my laundry (that would cost me $120 in time to do myself, but only costs you $80 in time) and you pay me $100 to clean your house (which would cost you $120 and me $80), GDP goes up by $200 but we are no better off than if we had exchanged chores without payment, and only $80 better off than if we had continued to do all our own work. Since industrialization has made a lot more things into cash transactions than pre-industrial, that implies that the headline GDP growth overstates the actual wealth increase.
Also, this:
https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2855