Putting Gross National Happiness in the Service of Good Development: From Ethics to Politics

In: Gross National Happiness and Development - Proceedings of the First International Conference on Operationalization of Gross National Happiness. Thimphu, Centre for Bhutan Studies 2004, pp. 706-731 . ISBN 99936-14-22-X

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Abstract

The paper is structured as follows: chapter two will discuss the nature of happiness and its relation to human behavior and decision making in order to shed light on the relationship between happiness and ethics. The author then briefly presents his understanding of (deontological) ethics in chapter three before examining the relationship between happiness and economic growth on the basis of empirical evidence. Chapter five will propose a particular interpretation of GNH and relate it to the concept of good development. Chapter six will point out some implications of the author's interpretation of GNH for its operationalization before he synthesizes the main arguments into five succinct statements in the conclusion.