Demanding & Supplying Wellness

Thinking about happiness at an individual level is easy. However, when happiness is undertaken as a developmental goal of government policy, heads turn. Why? Because happiness is supposed to be accidental1, something that is found in the end, in stories.

In the story of Bhutan, however, happiness was taken seriously from the get-go. Even their legal code in 1729 said to its people, "The purpose of the government is to provide happiness to its people. If it cannot provide happiness, there is no reason for the government to exist.”2 The invention of Gross National Happiness in Bhutan is one indicator of how they realized the meaning of true wealth way before many others. For disciplines that asked and solved questions regarding the well-being of many people, the idea of Gross National Happiness has always been intriguing because of their empirical awareness about how psychological factors like these can also have implications for economic development. Even if human beings were construed as mere mind and ability machines in the most ruthless corporate and business environments, Gross National Happiness would still matter because it has implications for what can keep the 'human machines' working efficiently with engagement for many years. Therefore, for the kindest and the crudest of man-made operated environments, Gross National Happiness is still a worthwhile idea.

How can Gross National Happiness be applied in large countries? Some may argue, Bhutan has a fairly manageable geographical space where people's actions can be better managed due to their respect for ancestral leadership. In other countries, where many states and subcultures exist, some innovative thinking may be needed. Here are a few possibilities.

Considering Gross National Happiness at state levels: This approach can enable better planning based on each state's natural resources, local trade specialities, culture, and ethnic structure. The local trade of many states, in most countries, tends to have some origin or link in the spirituality of the place. If not spirituality, the natural resources, wildlife parks, festivals, sports and games, dance and music, and intergenerationally passed on practices often shape what each state may have integrated as part of their shared happiness.

More feasible way of collecting relevant data related to subsequent progress: If the state level implementation of Gross National Happiness shows some promise, it is inevitably also a more scientifically realistic sample to work with when analyzing results to measure progress. Both individual and group level analyses can be introduced with a better sense of certainty, enabling more streamlined modifications in future.

The meaning of self-sustenance varies across states and regions: In some states, such a policy may have greater implications for economic growth, while in other more for stabilizing peace. This would depend on whatever may be the initial unstable condition of the place where Gross National Happiness is first introduced.

In sum, Gross National Happiness is a binder of social, psychological, moral, and economic development. Psychological engagement with life, shared and validated collectively, encourages us to produce life — by generating art and buildings that speak to its people, in the formation of political or economic contributions, in protecting and building monuments and quiet historically significant spaces of acknowledgement, protecting wildlife and parks, and by sharing innovative discoveries that can make us feel one and many at the same time.

1 The root word for happiness is 'hap' meaning fortune or chance

2 Gross National Happiness in Bhutan: 12 Things to Know | Asian Development Bank