luckydog1
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Interesting article and Idea Zensee.
"happiness" is a pretty vauge term, it works much like "freedom", in an oft repeated discussion on here.
I find it hard to think you would be happy in a state enforced absolute monarchy, with a state religion. There are over 100,000 religous refugees from bhutahn, the Gov basically exiled these communities for refusing to adhere to a social life based on the state religion (the refugees are devout Hindus, there are Hindus living there whop accept the primacy of Bhudim and they get left alone). Plus they dump cost of the care of these refugees on the UN and India.
"Happiness in general has to do with being able to balance the two most important aspects of life, and that is the material needs of the human being as well as the spiritual needs," said Jigmi Thinley, Bhutan's home minister.
"Unfortunately, conventional development is biased and it's catering only to the material needs, and we think it's important that both are pursued through deliberate development policies."
Consider that quote in the context of an official state religion, to me the implications are frightening.
And they require subsudies from both the UN and India (they get those by treaty law, its a semi independant nation) in order to feed the people. With out outside welfare people would starve. Without the outside world caring about GDP there would be no surplus to aid them with, and thier life expectancy would fall back to the low 40s. Thier main economy besides subsistence is hydro electric dams, they sit on the mouth of sevral Himalayan glacier fed rivers. They do not allow backpacking tourists, which I suppose makes the people happier.
Literacy is of little value if there is nothing but local language religious oriented stuff to read, they are not teaching them Chinese or English in thier schools. Animal Farm does a wonderful job of exlaining how literacy isn't necessarily usefull.
There is a promise to become a constitutional monarchy someday, which isn't exactly democracy. And the King is setting up his son to continue to dominate things.
I don't see Bhuttan as a paradise.
Plato wrote thousands of years ago about different forms of Government. The best form of governemnt he concluded was a benign despot. A Philosopher king. Slaves with a wise and just Master. And it is in many ways. The king of Bhuttan has not been an insane hedonist or sadistic monster. But there is a huge problem of succesion and sustainability in such a system. And you can bet the grandson of the Just Wise King, will be a spoiled brat. Its just the way the world turns. I see the same flaw in Socialism (at least of the Marxist/revolutionary varieties) in general.
Are there some inteeresting things to be considered about the Bhuttaese model? Sure, but look at the place for real, not through rose covered glasses. Wiht out outsiders coming in with technological assistance and welfare, the Bhuttanese would not be nearly as happy, and the place would be a lot like N Korea. Kim Jong ill (or at least his dad did, the current leader in some ways is the example of the problem of a worthy successor) thinks he is doing the same thing as the king of Bhuttan
People probably would be happy if they were slaves and all knowledge was fed to them. And they had an enforced religion, which they actually believed. Several posters often hark back to the middle ages as a happy time in Europeon history, happier than today. Back when common people didn't even get to know about big problems. They were treated as slaves in a religious run world. Ignorance is bliss, in someways that is true.
But I am with Plato on this say its a bad way to go. A truley open society has checks and balances, and along with literacy a freedom of ideas.
I like the last few paragraphs of the article.
"As Bhutan talks about the concept of gross national happiness as the outcome that they want to see for their country and their people, Coady talked about the good society," said Coyle, conference co-chair.
"I believe that Coady talked about – and that we're all still striving for – is one where there's a vibrant Bhuttan can't feed its people yet fair there is an insane disparity of wealth between the nobles and farmers economy, is one where people have a voice BHuttan is an Absolute Monarchy and there's good governance Extremely debatable, and it is only semi independant anyway, and that the environment is preserved and enhanced Hydro electric dams being built with foriegn labor."
The stuff in Red is reading between the lines and inserted by me
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“GNH” (nothing gross about happiness) - 
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