Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product.

The term was coined by Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972. It signalled his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. Like many worthy moral goals it is somewhat easier to state than to achieve, nonetheless, it serves as a unifying vision for the Five Year planning process and all the derived planning documents that guide the economic and development plans to the country.

While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH is based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.

One of many alternative indicators

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GHH is often discussed in tandem with the Genuine Progress Indicator which, unlike, GHH, actually tries to measure well-being and quantify happiness. The two measures agree, however, that well-being is more relevant and important than consumption.

Criticism of GHN

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Critics allege that because GNH depends on a series of subjective judgements about well-being, governments may be able to define GNH in a way that suits their interests. In the case of Bhutan, for instance, they point out that the government expelled about a third of the country's population on the grounds that the deportees are ethnic Nepalese who settled in the country illegally. While this would reduce Bhutan's wealth by most traditional measures such as GDP, the Bhutan government claims it has not reduced Bhutan's GNH.

Alternative indicators of economic progress have also been supported by a number of NGOs such as the UK's New Economics Foundation, and are employed in some governments notably in Europe and Canada.

GNH Conference

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"Rethinking Development: Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing", the Second International Conference on Gross National Happiness was held in Antigonish, Nova Scotia June 20–24, 2005, co-hosted by Genuine Progress Index Atlantic (proceedings online); the Coady International Institute; Shambhala; the Centre for Bhutan Studies; the Province of Nova Scotia; the Gorsebrook Research Institute at Saint Mary's University; and the University of New Brunswick.

Happiness as a measurement of Classical Liberalism

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Under classical liberal economic theory happiness was already an economic measurement. Happiness was also used interchangebly with utility as well as the general welfare. Classical liberal economists quantify happiness through measurements in consumption and profits. For example if X product is consumed in good quantity for high profit, classical liberal economists argue that societies know that this good, and all the factors used in the production of the good, generate a great deal of happiness for society. It is precisely this equation of high consumption levels with happiness that has been challenged by proponents of GNH.

References

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• Layard, Richard (2005), Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, The Penguin Press

See also

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• Post-materialism
• Utilitarianism

External links

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• Nadia Mustafa, Time, 10 January 2005, "What About Gross National Happiness?" ^*
• Rajni Bakshi, Resurgence, 25 January 2005, "Gross National Happiness" ^*
• "Gross National Happiness - a set of discussion papers", Centre for Bhutan Studies ^*
• Institute of Empirical Research in Economics, Zurich University – Working papers [http://www.iew.unizh.ch/wp/index.en.php search with "happiness"
• Frank Dixon, Innovest Inc. February 2004, "Gross National Happiness: Improving Unsustainable Western Economic Systems" (Word Document) (website)
• BBC Story of Bhutanese Refugees ^*
• BBC Story of European Criticism of Bhutan ^*
• Andrew C. Revkin, Also available as PDF
• GNH 2 Media Clips tracks the appearance of the notion of "Gross National Happiness" in the media 2000-2005 ^*

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