I appreciate very much the sentiment in this article, but in the end I disagree--to the extent that it refers to the economy. Material well-being can be “reduced to a single metric:” income (relative to prices).

The solution to all of our societal problems that are directly related to the economy (unemployment, poverty, taxation, public debt, and sustainability) can be solved with a "democratically distributed income" (and extending that concept to the funding of government). Explications are available in "Same Economy, Way Better Outcomes for Society" and (for, primarily, economists) "Paradigm Shift" (both here in Medium). The only limits imposed are a limit on how much money (as currency) will be created and a limit (adjusted for income) on how much money can be hoarded.