home
Fri May 18, 2012
RSS
Thomas Chupein
Children in Phobjihka Valley

Discovering Gross National Happiness

By Thomas Chupein, Bhutan – January 2010

As we enter a new decade with renewed hope for global peace and prosperity, many of us viscerally feel the weight of years of conflict and a ravaged economy.  In our hearts, we know there is something fundamentally wrong with the global economic system.  The “masters of the universe” have successfully unleashed an unfettered brand of capitalism around the world and we have just seen the decimation that comes when economics becomes dis-embedded from and gains supremacy over society.  Fortunately, there is a voice of wisdom offering us an alternative.

High in the Himalayas sits the tiny and spectacularly beautiful Kingdom of Bhutan.  This small society, the only remaining Mahayana Buddhist Kingdom in the world, is offering a great gift to the world.  It is challenging the conventional wisdom of what it means to be “rich” or “developed”.  Instead of measuring progress by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the government devotes itself to maximizing Gross National Happiness (GNH) for all Bhutanese.

Last summer I had the privilege to work with the Royal Government as a part of my graduate program at Harvard University.  I never experienced a time in my life where every single day – all day – I was happy.  How could I not be?  Human gentleness permeates daily life in the capital, Thimphu, where red-cheeked children and smiles meet you at every turn.  Working with the Gross National Happiness Commission, I relished the way my Bhutanese colleagues manifested compassion every day in their professional relationships and for the citizens they serve.

For centuries, Bhutan (also called “Druk Yul”, which means “Land of the Thunder Dragon”) remained in self-imposed isolation, devoted to preserving its political sovereignty and unique culture.  Until seven years ago, Bhutan had no Internet service and even television only made its debut in the country a little more than 10 years ago.  Just 50 years ago there were no roads linking Bhutanese towns with each other or the country with its neighbors.  The cash economy was almost non-existent.

It is fascinating to see a society grapple with such rapid change in only two generations.  I struggled to understand how such change affects the individual and collective psyche of a society and empathized with the difficult choices individuals and the government must make daily in their attempt to negotiate globalization.

Sandwiched between two giants, India and China, each with a population of over a billion, the 670,000 Bhutanese inhabit a vulnerable geography.  Decades ago, Bhutan’s visionary monarch recognized that the country must actively manage the forces of globalization or risk being swallowed by it – militarily, demographically, or culturally.

As it slowly opened to the world, the government recoiled at the common understanding of “development” and what was considered “success”.  Bhutan crafted an alternative conception of development – Gross National Happiness (GNH).  First articulated three decades ago by His Majesty the Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and deeply rooted in Buddhist culture, GNH seeks to maximize the total wellbeing of people.  Recognizing individuals’ spiritual and emotional needs, GNH elevates environmental conservation, cultural heritage, and good governance to the level of material needs in policymaking.

Of course, Bhutan recognizes economic growth as a critical input toward achieving GNH.  Growth is necessary to lift people out of material poverty, ensure a healthier population that continues to increase in number, and to expand employment opportunity for individuals to live lives they define as desirable.  Indeed, per capita income has risen by 70% in only the past five years. However, income remains simply a means by which to pursue a more comprehensive understanding of what it means to be rich.

Buddhist thought has it that pursuance of the sensual only brings momentary happiness.  GNH seeks to manifest a more lasting contentment in people by aiming to maintain a sense of belonging to something greater than oneself.

Every weekend, I would go hiking with my newfound Bhutanese friends.  Hiking in Bhutan is different than in the United States where I live.  Every hike has a destination in mind: a monastery up in the clouds.  We would hike all day in the pristine mountains to arrive at a temple where we would pray and make offerings to Lord Buddha and Guru Rinpoche.

The deep contentment I felt in Bhutan came from the communion I felt as nature, the spiritual world, and my friendships intertwined daily.  No amount of material wealth could ever engender the sense of inner calm I had as I listened to prayer flags whip in the wind high above gray glacial rivers.  It really hit me:  Bhutanese society has its priorities rightly ordered.

GNH recognizes the interdependence of all human and sentient beings, and of nature.  One devout man I met in Bhutan put it best when he said, “to achieve GNH, we need to abandon the self.”  Only when we become selfless and place generosity and our shared humanity at the center of our collective decision-making will we truly achieve social progress.

With respect to policy, the Royal Government of Bhutan is currently constructing a Bhutan Development Index (BDI), which would quantitatively measure development along many dimensions that affect a person’s wellbeing.  For example, it would consider indicators of community vitality, self-reported indicators of psychological wellbeing, and ecological conditions.

For now, government policies must pass a very high threshold of environmental responsibility, including a constitutional mandate that 60% of the country remain forested in perpetuity.  In addition, significant funds are made available to preserve Bhutan’s vibrant monastic culture and its spiritual heritage sites.  It also places considerable emphasis on the preservation of the national language, Dzongkha.

And, all policy always has one eye focused on ensuring that economic gains are shared equitably among all Bhutanese because material inequality leads to fear and resentment, emotions that are antithetical to a person’s happiness.

Perhaps one of the most outstanding examples of Bhutan’s commitment to GNH is the recent (unsolicited) monarchical decree that Bhutan would become a democracy.  In an exercise of good governance, King Jigme Sangye Wangchuck announced in 2005 that Bhutan would become a constitutional parliamentary democracy and that he would abdicate the throne to his son, the current King, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck.  In 2008, the first elections took place peacefully and Bhutan became the world’s youngest democracy, giving unprecedented political voice to all citizens.

However, as Bhutan opens up and “development” comes in, the threat of materialism looms over the country.  The discourse and practice of GNH competes daily with fancy new SUVs and Western cultural exports.  What struck me, though, as I roamed the country was how smoothly young people are inventing a cultural “hybridity”.  You see young kids sporting Spiderman backpacks atop their traditional dress and teenagers who perfectly execute a hip-hop look while hiking to monasteries to pray on holy days.  And, it doesn’t feel discordant.  Bhutanese values still remain very much intact, apparent in the gentleness and warmth of people that surround you at every moment.

But, the question remains: Can GNH triumph over the seductiveness of the temporal?  Can Bhutan withstand the global forces of individualism and materialism?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that many people in Bhutan are conscious of what could be lost.

Western societies have achieved material development but continue to struggle with broken communities, personal isolation, and a divorced relationship with nature.  Perhaps a country like the U.S. represents fertile ground in which to cultivate the values of GNH.  With the threat of globalization comes opportunity.

As people see the glamour and wealth out there, they also see the violence and social alienation.  Globalization has heightened Bhutanese people’s awareness of what an astonishingly beautiful country they inhabit, how special are its traditions and culture, and how lucky they are to live in what they describe as a “peace country.”

The current global model of “development” isn’t working.  Climate change as an effect of our carbon-based global economy threatens the very viability of some states, including significant parts of Bhutan as its glaciers rapidly disappear.

The recent financial sector meltdown has thrown an estimated one hundred million people in the Global South back into poverty.  Material inequality within and between countries has grown significantly in the past 50 years as liberal economics spread across the world.  Along with abject poverty and unconscionable disparities in income has come political radicalization that has brought about greater disharmony and conflict in our world.

With eyes wide open, I place hope in Bhutan to share with the world a much-needed alternative concept of development that truly lifts up the human spirit and not just the stock markets that benefit a privileged few.

Leave a Reply

Website Developed by Arc Intermedia