For a long time, economists, political decision-makers, and bureaucrats dealing with the problems of the poorer populations of the world have claimed that quality of life only improves when gross domestic product per capita increases. Using this rough measure, even countries with alarming inequality receive high ratings, where a large part of the population does not benefit from the overall improvement in the economic situation. Because these guiding principles are fundamentally flawed, they have directed development policy along paths that must seem untenable in light of widely held human values, such as respect for equality and dignity. To challenge these established but inappropriate theories, we need a theoretical counter-proposal.