From Martin Islam
Bjørn Lomborg’s assessment of the state of the world with a GDP-based approach (12 October, p 26) illustrates why economics has been attacked as fundamentally unscientific. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, last year tweeted: “Rationality, for the economist, means subjecting every thought/decision to a cost-benefit analysis. A wholly narrow view of humanity.”
Lomborg’s basis for the evaluation, which he admits is not a perfect measure, is an elaborate exercise in cost-benefit accounting which, for all its apparent sophistication, must remain inherently subjective.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
