The prosperity index

A student stood up and said to the old professor:

• Professor, I heard that you have just returned from an international scientific conference. Could you tell us today what it was about?
  The old professor smiled and signalled the student to sit down, then took a chair himself, sat down and said:
• This conference was held in Switzerland and invited renowned professors from many countries to exchange views on some of the world's important issues, especially in the fields of economy, society and the environment.
  I was fortunate to be invited too. Of course, the language of the conference was mainly English, with a few others as support. So work hard to master English, so that you will have many wonderful opportunities later.
  There were many matters under discussion, but one side session unexpectedly became the hot spot of the conference. In that session a German professor said that the PROSPERITY INDEX of a nation needs to be defined concretely. Many other indicators, such as GDP, the annual growth rate, the national budget each year and many other figures, could be combined to calculate a nation's PROSPERITY INDEX. Everyone debated it fiercely.
  I stood up and asked to contribute one small idea about this Prosperity Index of a nation.
  I said that a nation's Prosperity Index is often not a number, but PEOPLE. Perhaps the Nation's Prosperity Index is not a number. It could be humans. Everyone was very surprised by my idea.
  I said that to judge whether a nation is prosperous, we should not rely on rigid figures but look at a SOFTER factor, which is people. We should examine how many of the following kinds of outstanding people that nation has:
• Entrepreneurs who create the most stable work for society - this one does of course need figures to assess.
• Leaders who win the greatest trust of the people, so that the strength of the entire population is brought together.
• Scientists with the most breakthrough discoveries.
• Engineers with the most inventions that can be applied to economic and social life.
• Artists whose works create healthy emotions and inspire the community the most.
• Spiritual figures who have the best influence on the ethics and way of life of the greatest number of people.
• Volunteers and philanthropists who draw the widest range of the public to take part.
• Environmental campaigners whose voices win the greatest response.
• Educators who produce the most talented people for the country...
  For example, when we speak of the United States, we have no idea what their GDP is, but we know at once Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk... When we speak of Russia we do not care what their budget is, but we think at once of Leo Tolstoy and Putin. When we speak of Japan we do not know how strong their exports are, but we think at once of Matsushita, the musician Kitaro... Many people have helped to adorn the loveliness of their country. So why do we not use them to measure the Prosperity Index of their country, instead of cold, dry numbers? People are much more lovable.
  But it is very hard for us to use people to assess, and we want concrete numbers, only because our brains are not yet "soft" enough to understand the value of people. A country with such outstanding people is a country that is prospering and will prosper. If we use people to assess a nation's prosperity, from now on we will encourage nations to build people rather than keep chasing numbers. People are more lovable than Numbers. A country with many outstanding people is a prosperous country, because those outstanding people will be the leaders of the herd and an inspiration for very many of their compatriots to advance together.
  Surely beside every outstanding person there must be a great many others who are no ordinary people. An outstanding person must have produced many talented people close to them.
  So let us assess a nation's prosperity by the number of outstanding people it has gained, in many fields.
  When I finished speaking, the whole conference applauded without stopping.

The whole class of students also stood and applauded without stopping. They cheered the old professor's name so loudly that it echoed across the schoolyard and the other classrooms could hear. Many people came out to see what had happened. 👴

Numbers will not last long in the memory or mind of history, but brilliant People will last long in everyone's affection. The worth of an age or a nation is created by the brilliant people of that age and nation. A nation of standing is one in which many brilliant people appear, enough to make the world admire it, not one that has a great deal of money and property.