For most of the last century, we measured the economy with a single number. Gross Domestic Product told us how much was being produced and bought, and we treated rising GDP as a proxy for everything else we wanted: jobs, security, opportunity, even happiness.
It was always a stretch. GDP rises when ecosystems are clear-cut, when oil spills are cleaned up, when families spend more on healthcare because they’re sicker. It does not rise when a parent stays home with a child, or when an aquifer is left intact. The number is silent on the questions that matter most.
The Doughnut is a different kind of compass. It asks two simple questions at once. Is everyone getting enough? And is the planet getting too much?