India, April 11 -- Once again, this discussion is intense. On the one side are those who wish to capture everything in terms of numbers. They are the quants who believe in quantitative analyses. On the other side are the ones who want to measure actual progress, and prosperity. They have a qualitative bent, and question the "world's accounting systems" as they exist. Indeed, while the former section prays to the God of GDP, the latter think of the figure as partly-demonic. The first thinks of GDP as a sacrosanct, sure-shot way to measure the rise of the nations. The second feels the number reflects the demise of the planet.

The present debate was kicked off by Antonio Guterres, UN secretary general, who said that we needed an "urgent ove...