Thesis title: L’USO PERFORMATIVO DEL PIL. UN’INDAGINE FILOSOFICA
Understanding Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is not merely a technical matter: it entails a critical inquiry into one of the most influential instruments in shaping economic policies and social priorities. This research approaches GDP from a philosophical perspective, aiming to contribute to the contemporary debate on the desirability and implications of pursuing its growth. The analysis adopts a multidisciplinary framework, applying the concept of economic performativity to explore GDP’s role as a device capable of actively shaping social and economic reality through the theoretical apparatus that underpins its interpretation.
The study unfolds in three main stages: (1) an introduction to the concept of economic performativity and its relevance to the analysis of indicators; (2) an examination of the performativity of the economic theories underlying GDP; (3) a philosophical analysis of the theoretical, methodological, and ethical implications of such performativity. The thesis argues that GDP contributes to the enactment of normative visions rooted in the neoclassical tradition, grounded in assumptions and axioms of welfare theory that are implicitly embedded in economic practice.
This insight calls for greater awareness of the performative effects of GDP and a clear ethical-political responsibility on the part of economists and policymakers in its use. In this sense, the work seeks to provide conceptual tools for rethinking the role of economic indicators in the construction of social reality.