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buddhism
January 2009 
Economists appraise Bhutan's happiness model
Posted on Dec 5th, 2008
by 
Keith
Keith
Bhutan
Just had to share this . . .
Economists appraise Bhutan's happiness model
(12-04) 04:00 PST Thimphu, Bhutan -- In the thick of a global financial crisis, many economists have come to this Himalayan kingdom to study a unique economic policy called Gross National Happiness, based on Buddhist principles.
When considering economic development, policymakers here take into account respect for all living things, nature, community participation and the need for balance between work, sleep and reflection or meditation.
"Happiness is very serious business," Bhutan Prime Minister Jigme Thinley said. "The dogma of limitless productivity and growth in a finite world is unsustainable and unfair for future generations."
Read the remainder of the article . . . Here
The Royal Palace - Thimphu Bhutan
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[Side Note: I just read that the newly crowned King of Bhutan, H. M. Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who is a mere 28 years old, spent much of his life in Andover, Massachusetts. Aley and I lived only a few miles from Andover, which is northwest of Boston.]
Access: Public
Here is the link to the Gross National Happiness website.
If we could only model happiness perhaps one day everyone would actually feel it!
Gross National Happiness???!!!!
OMG, one of my early blogs, I asked (mused really, lol)…about how come a Nation wasn’t recognized by how happy its people are…for there is the real Greatness of a Nation! The Contentment of the People! =)
Fantabulous blog, very nice to see it is REALITY!!!
Muahhhs~~<3
Gross National Happiness is an approach to development unique to
Bhutan. While conventional development stresses economic growth as the
ultimate objective, GNH is based on the premise that true development
takes place only when material and spiritual development occur side by
side. For GNH to grow, government must concentrate on four key areas:
– Promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development
– Preservation and promotion of cultural values
– Conservation of the environment
– Good government
In a bid to popularize the concept internationally, the Bhutanese
government is devising a GNH index that is expected to be ready as
early as the end of the year. Unlike the gross domestic product index,
however, a GNH index measures the quality of life based on 72 standards.
“We’ve been chasing gross domestic product for decades, and now
societies are starting to say we need to look beyond GDP and start
measuring well-being,” said Jon Hall, a project leader at the
Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.
Isn’t this … like … past due?
Past due for sure, Keith :)
This is a great post and thank you for sharing it. I wonder if our shiny, new president will institute something like this? We should all get on his website and let him know about this if he doesn’t know already. I’ll bet Dennis Kucinich could head the department!
Yes, appears we’re heading in this direction, although under a different name/title.
{{{{BREATHE IN THE FRESH AIR}}}}
Excellent post Keith! I recently read an article in which the results of a study found that money only accounts for about 12% of our happiness… how peculiar it is that our society bases the greatness of a nation on a matter that excludes 88% of the cause of our happiness. I truly look forward to the new America which will almost certainly take into account happiness as a factor of how great this nation is!
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/060629_money_happiness.html
I want to thank you for putting up this post for everyone. I cross posted this to
Let’s discuss the ECONOMY on Gaia Networking for others to share.
http://pods.gaia.com/z_network/discussions/view/366466