GDP is a great example of Goodhart’s Law. In the early 20th century it made sense to associate high GDP countries with a higher standard of living. So it seemed reasonable to prioritize GDP by discouraging savings and encouraging investment.
Now we’ve got a super high GDP, but real pay has stagnated and inequality has spiraled out of control.
So how do we inform everyone that we’ve bet the world economy on an incorrect assumption? There are a lot of people whose jobs depend on encouraging consumption, and even more whose egos depend on being right about it. People (ironically) went into debt to get degrees telling them high GDP was a good idea.