by Flemming Funch
NY Times talks about how the king of the little country Bhutan in the Himalayas had decided to make Gross National Happiness a priority, instead of just boring stuff like Gross National Product. Bhutan, the king said, needed to ensure that prosperity was shared across society and that it was balanced against preserving cultural traditions, protecting the environment and maintaining a responsive government. The king, now 49, has been instituting policies aimed at accomplishing these goals.
Now Bhutan's example, while still a work in progress, is serving as a catalyst for far broader discussions of national well-being.
Around the world, a growing number of economists, social scientists, corporate leaders and bureaucrats are trying to develop measurements that take into account not just the flow of money but also access to health care, free time with family, conservation of natural resources and other noneconomic factors.
The goal, according to many involved in this effort, is in part to return to a richer definition of the word happiness, more like what the signers of the Declaration of Independence had in mind when they included "the pursuit of happiness" as an inalienable right equal to liberty and life itself.
Well, mainly the article says that people have started talking about this, having conferences about it, and so forth. And that it still is a bit of a mystery why people seem to be happier in some places than others. In the low range happiness tends to increase with increased income, but only to a certain point. And some places, like Latin American countries, seem to be happier than they should be, looking at how many people live in poverty. And former communist countries seem to stay unhappy, even after they apparently have achieved higher standards of living. It is hard to quantify happiness, of course, as it isn't a substance. But one has to look at what really motivates people, what they really want, what makes them fulfilled and more alive. And one has to make more of that, however it might be measured, in order to increase any index. All of which is a good thing.
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