The forum for alternative indicators of wealth : beyond GDP, democratically

This chapter trains a spotlight on a hybrid collective made up of academics and activists involved in the development of new indicators of wealth, known in French as the Forum pour d’Autres Indicateurs de Richesse (FAIR). Some ten or so authors of studies critical of growth published in the late 1990s decided to form themselves into a network when the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission on the measurement of economic performance and social progress was set up in 2008. The Forum’s aim was to encourage the Commission to take into consideration citizens’ expectations in its deliberations on the representation of "what counts". Unfortunately, although the Commission did highlight criticisms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as an indicator, it was to come down heavily in favour of certain theoretical schools of thought (on well-being, happiness and quality of life) at the expense of a truly innovative and concerted approach. FAIR was set up to mirror the Commission but is also part of a wider movement challenging the use of GDP and growth as hegemonic indicators of economic management. It challenges the economicism of the indicators of sustainability developed and promoted by international organisations and highlights the importance of deliberation among citizens on what well-being is and should be.