The goal of those policies is not to lower standards of living; the people who pass those policies don't do so in order to lower standards of living. Cutting GDP in half was a side effect - you could cut GDP much further if you were trying.

Haha silly illiberals, capitalists don't harm people because they're greedy! It's more that their desire for maximizing profit results in people getting harmed as a side effect. This is totally different!