However, Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen argued in his book ‘Development as Freedom’ that identifying development with GDP, GNP, growth in personal income, technological advancement, industrialization, or social modernization is a narrow view of development. Though they are highly important indicators of development, they cannot present the picture as a whole.
Since the 1950s, the world has seen a number of development initiatives that spur economic growth and help create wealth, the latter teaching that wealth alone is not enough to make people’s lives full of opportunity. may not be effective. To achieve this, as the Social Progress Index points out, we need social and environmental progress while providing people with basic human needs, a foundation of well-being and opportunities. Scores in these three main factors, which have many sub-factors, can reflect a country’s social progress and ability to ensure an environment for people to achieve success, upward mobility and a better life – the American dream. Summary.
The latest edition of that global index, released in 2022, shows that among 169 countries, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland top the list as having the highest level of social progress, with scores between 90-91. While Japan, Canada, United States, India and Bangladesh ranked 9, 10, 25, 110 and 119 respectively.