Bhutan is Teaching the World How to Be Happy

Bhutan is a unique country. While most countries are keen to increase their Gross National Product (GNP) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) , this small country has decided to use a different measure to see how well it is performing. The Gross National Happiness (GNH) was introduced into Bhutan during the 1970s by their then king. He wanted a means of measuring the countries performance in regards to Buddhist values rather than western ones. This was a bold move which has one the country much praise as well as criticism.

Gross National Happiness in less concerned with just economics, and more focused on those parts of society which will increase general well-being including; promotion and preservation of cultural values, encouraging sustainable economic growth, maintaining good governance, and maintaining the natural environment. These four factors are viewed as the most important indicators of Bhutan's well-being, and it is improvement in these areas where the government has focused its aims.

Gross National Happiness has been criticised because it is claimed to rely on too many subjective measurements. Proponents of the more quantitative methods like GDP or GNP measurements feel uneasy about the fact that the measurement tools do not easily align themselves with less disputed statistics such as the amount of money produced by exports. Another criticism is the questions about whether or not the four factors used do indeed measure happiness.

Despite the criticism, many would see Gross National Happiness as a move holistic measurement of how well a country is performing. Many agree that their is far more to a country's well-being than mere economic growth or production. The Gross National Happiness measures factors such as time spent with family, and access to free healthcare as being equally important.

Gross National Happiness has won a new advocate in the form of French president Nicholas Sarkozy. He also feels that GDP is not a reliable enough tool to measure the health of his country, and believes that general happiness needs also to be taken into consideration. This endorsement by Sarkozy was sparked by a report by a commission set up by noble prizewinner Prof. Joseph Stiglitz. The commission does not go so far as to say that the west should adopt Gross National Happiness as a replacement for GDP, but it does recommend that the factors contained within GNH need to be taking into consideration.

Sources

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0916/1224254643240.html

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=8,8541,0,0,1,0