flawed story of economic development

the reigning story—that economic development brings forth a world of universal prosperity—is deeply flawed

Economies were growing financially at the expense of life. Development brought a few individuals more money and more life. Most individuals, however, got a bit more money and a lot less life. The consequences were clearly visible for people at the bottom, for whom the net consequence was less food, less access to clean water, less basic security, and less joy.

Public policies shaped by that lens were shifting power from people and nations to global corporations and financial markets delinked from moral sensibility and public accountability