Operationalising Gross National Happiness

In: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Operationalization of Gross National Happiness. Thimphu, Centre for Bhutan Studies 2004, pp. 121-139 . ISBN 99936-14-22-X

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Abstract

This paper looks at how measuring human progress and well-being in terms of financial transactions, i.e. Gross Domestic Produce (GDP), is flawed. When people are encouraged to shift from providing for their needs themselves, (in traditional rural cultures) to purchasing everything (in modern urban cultures), much is lost. It shows the consequences of a development process that puts economic interest before human welfare and describes solutions that include implementing a measurement of progress that incorporates a psychological, spiritual and environmental perspective, i.e. Gross Domestic Happiness (GNH). It argues that we have to fundamentally change direction, from a centralised system controlled by unaccountable bodies such as banks and corporations, to a decentralised system that protects communities, diverse cultures, local democracy and small-scale trade.