If the machines stop making other machines, stop consuming electrical power and raw materials, remaining cold and silent...and the companies that own the machines suffer a huge drop in sales but because they are not highly leveraged, simply cut down on company purchases -- should the subsequent huge drop in economic activity recorded in the GDP figures be considered catastrophic, or merely a respite from a frenzy?
GDP is a pretty weird measurement (no shortage of those in economy and other social sciences; stock indices tend to be even worse). GDP per person is better, and PPP-adjusted GDP better still. Still not good, though; I suspects it's still popular and taken seriously simply because it's relatively easy to measure and compare across time and across nations.
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