I read this interesting NY Times article a little while back about how the government of the tiny country of Bhutan in the Himalayas is being judged by the happiness it produces, not the economic benefits.
The prime minister of the Buddhist kingdom blames the current worldwide economic catastrophe on “insatiable human greed” and insists that what’s needed is a radical shift in thinking.
To that end, the government aims to produce the conditions necessary for the “pursuit of gross national happiness,” paraphrasing the American Declaration of Independence. The Bhutanese are busy working out a system of definitions and standards that can be quantified in concrete way.
Their intricate model of well-being consists of the 4 pillars, 9 domains, and 72 indicators of happiness. That sounds a little complicated, but I love the idea of focusing on happiness over wealth. What’s that old saying, “Money can’t buy happiness?”
The four pillars of a happy society involve the economy, culture, the environment, and good governance. Sounds like they’re onto something. They’ve even managed to devise mathematical formulas to measure the components that make up the elusive mental state. Maybe we can learn something from this country with a population of just 700,000. The secret to happiness, perhaps?
Click here to read the entire article. What do you think of the idea of measuring Gross National Happiness? Please leave your thoughts in the Comments section.
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