Bhutan & Gross National Happiness

Abstract

The authors present how Bhutan has revised the concept of development quantified through gross national happiness. The authors point out that along with development and the fulfillment of most basic human needs across the world, there has been a transition in the public discourse of how to increase life satisfaction, while also addressing the challenge of sustainability and environmental protection. The United Nations has helped incite this switch of perspective by supporting many holistic initiatives such as the World Happiness Report (WHR), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and the Human Development Index (HDI) which has been around since the early 90s. With these changes, Bhutan, a small Himalayan country using happiness instead of money as the main indicator for decision making, and which is the only carbon negative country in the world, has begun to draw international attention. This article analyzes the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) in Bhutan, its history, cultural relevance, scope, potentials, and limitations. It also looks at some of the challenges Bhutan is facing in regard to accomplishing its ambitious goals, as well as some valuable lessons it has to teach the rest of the world.