The development of well-being

Abstract

Bhutan has become well known internationally for its policy of Gross National Happiness (GNH), an alternative approach to economics and governance which directs Bhutan’s development toward environmental sustainability and societal well-being. In addition to providing an overview of GNH, the aim of this chapter is to consider whether GNH should be viewed as a Buddhist perspective on the economy and development. I argue that in order to make sense of the way proponents of GNH understand and represent GNH one needs to make reference to central Buddhist values and principles. Further, I suggest that we can discern two forms of Buddhist modernism in the phenomena of GNH: one nationalist, which closely associates GNH with the Bhutanese monarchy and the sovereignty of Bhutan, and another that connects GNH with a universalist and secularized form of Buddhism. While the former aspect of GNH is more associated with Bhutanese citizens, and the latter is oriented to a transnational audience, I argue that the boundary between these two forms of Buddhist modernism as evident in GNH cannot be drawn on the basis of citizenship but rather reflects two different functions of GNH that co-exist in tension.