Gross National Happiness

There has been an upsurge in interest in the concept of happiness in communities where you wouldn’t expect to find it; According to a Times article, both politicians and scientists are studying the economics of happiness. While scientists attempt to define and measure happiness, governments are trying to use this information to create a happier constituency. Where it used to be thought that money could buy happiness, which led to the pursuit of a higher Gross National Product (or GDP), it turns out that this isn’t exactly true. Once people reach a certain level of income where all their basic needs are met, they don’t actually become much happier with any additional increase in wealth.

If that’s the case, then all underdeveloped nations should still rank lower than developed nations, right? Not necessarily. This is why we now turn our attention to Bhutan, where the people seem to be really quite happy. It was their king who came up with the term "Gross National Happiness.” His philosophy is rooted in the Buddhist notion that the ultimate purpose in life is inner happiness, which led him to emphasize such things as environmental awareness, stress reduction, and preserving and promoting cultural values in his country's decision making process. Consequently his goverment have outlawed things such as plastic bags, billboards and traffic lights.

According to Newsweek, “countries as diverse as Bhutan, Australia, China, Thailand and the U.K. are coming up with ‘happiness indexes,’ to be used alongside GDP as a guide to society's progress. Interestingly, according to a second Newsweek article, which lists the happiest and unhappiest countries, though the U.S. is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, it doesn’t even rank in the top 10 of the happiest.

There have already been two world conferences on Gross National Happiness, the third, entitled Towards Global Transformation: World Views Make a Difference, is due to take place in November in Thailand. The World Database of Happiness keeps track of scientific research on the subjective appreciation of life. But while scientists and governments try to figure out how best to serve us, it is our job to discover what really makes us happy, so we can all work together to make a happier world.

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