Does Gross National Happiness Thrive in the Face of GDP?

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As I mentioned in my last post, during the reign of the 4th King laws and policy were developed that were consistent with this concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH). King Jigme Singye Wangchuck believed that legitimate public deliberation, discussion and opinion should be used to define any goal and should filter through a democracy based on a GNH Index. This would then support enlightened citizenship. Today the new King Khesar is on board with his father, and GNH in Bhutan lives on.

This 5th King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck proclaimed at his 2008 coronation that continuing to fulfill the vision of the Gross National Happiness Index will be one of his main responsibilities. King Khesar underscored that implementing GNH is an investment in an “enlightened society in which the happiness and well-being of all people and sentient beings is the ultimate purpose of governance”. But to understand even the essence of the GNH Index one must first glance at several aspects of the dominate Gross Domestic Product.

For example, across the world conventional indicators related to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reflect the tangible output of a society— consumption and production. It can easily be argued, and it is readily pointed out by the Bhutanese, that GDP is biased against conservation. If GDP indicators measure progress based on rapid material growth, then GDP is prioritized at the expense of environmental preservation, and the Bhutanese believe, at the expense of cultures and community cohesion as well.

Because even that one reflection of GDP vs. GNH is an elephant sized bite to chew on (as is the document in which GNH lives), we’ll be dipping into the Gross National Happiness Index bit by bit to gain an understanding of its meaning and subsequent metric as a reflection of GDP.

In the meantime enjoy the below video created by The Simple Show explaining GNH… simply.

Join our Facebook page to continue exploring Gross National Happiness in Bhutan, while sharing the prep for our expedition. Upcoming posts will include work on our expedition route, as well as interviews with an American who does business in Bhutan and an interview with the head of the Bhutan Olympic Committee. Join our and invite your friends! We’d love to hear from you.

Back at you soon, Terri

Gross National Happiness by The Simple Show