Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: What Makes Life Worthwhile? GDP Won't Tell You

I recently spoke in Pesaro, Italy at a conference on new ways of measuring the well-being of nations and communities. For the past half-century, the yardstick for measuring national progress has traditionally been GDP. But in the last few years, a growing number of economists, concerned citizens, and even heads of state have been asking whether there is more to happiness than a big pile of dollar signs.

Politicians, at times, see what should be done, but can't quite persuade citizens to...