As this blog has progressed I've learnt about, researched
and debated various materialist, consumerist issues. Many of these issues have
had empty answers, vague and unspecific. But recently iv begun to research the
idea of GNH, Gross National Happiness. A concept developed by the Forth king of
Bhutan, Bhutan being a small country in the Himalayas. The concept takes
concentration away from economic growth and looks at happiness. GNH has four
pillars – Good governance, sustainable socio economic development, cultural preservation
and finally environmental conservation. Along with this there’s nine points:
community vitality, good governance, health, education, time use, cultural diversity,
living standards and resilience.
With the yearly survey that Bhutanese people submit, measurements of happiness can be created specifically to gender, districts, age,
occupations and more. This can then be brought into government policy, thus
increasing the overall nation’s happiness. Every law/policy created in Bhutan
has to pass a GNH review, ensuring policies are for the good of the citizens.
According to Guardian Weekly in 2012:
“The country has
pledged itself to remain carbon-neutral and to ensure that at least 60% of its
land mass will remain under forest cover in perpetuity. It has banned logging
and has instigated a monthly pedestrian day that bars all private vehicles from
its roads. In a world beset by collapsing financial systems, gross inequity and
wide-scale environmental destruction, the tiny Buddhist state’s approach is
attracting a lot of interest. Last year the UN adopted Bhutan’s call for a
holistic approach to development, a move endorsed by 68 countries. A UN panel
is considering ways for Bhutan’s GNH model to be replicated globally.”
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