No, it isn't. An index is a quantifiable measure. I said the behaviour of people in the aggregate, not measuring the behaviour of people in the aggregate.
How do you measure civic participation? Why would you even try? It is genuinely baffling to me that people view quantification as an end in itself when any understanding of human behaviour tells you that a huge proportion of the population just shut their brain off when a number appears (that is the point made in the original post, we have this problem with "the economy" that leads to people making such bad policy choices because of this mindset).
Quantification is not an end in itself.
I can think of many ways to measure civic participation and reasons I might want to, especially if I think it is healthy for society and wanted to encourage more of it.
As I said, this is the issue. "The economy" is a direct consequence of people thinking that everything can be quantified. It is so shallow until you realise that this thinking is pervasive in government, and explains why "line goes up" whilst everything valuable is collapsing is so prevalent. In other words, to explain why basic societal functions are collapsing whilst you have people saying things have never been so good requires an extremely reductive mode of thought.
How do you measure civic participation? Why would you even try? It is genuinely baffling to me that people view quantification as an end in itself when any understanding of human behaviour tells you that a huge proportion of the population just shut their brain off when a number appears (that is the point made in the original post, we have this problem with "the economy" that leads to people making such bad policy choices because of this mindset).