GNH: Bhutan's Unique Development Philosophy

GNH: Bhutan's Unique Development Philosophy

Here is an English version of the talk on Gross National Happiness (GNH) I gave in Japanese on 17th Feb. 2007 in Tokushima, Japan. Today, GNH has become so overused and misused that some people are fed up of it. Yet, there are some curious to know more about GNH, but are daunted by the countless professional papers on GNH you find on the CBS website. So for the sake of all such people, I am putting here my talk on GNH which highlights its background, basic principles and what it promises to do for Bhutan and the world in a simple and straight-forward way.

Presented By: Cigay on 17 Feb. 2007
Organized By: Tokushima Prefecture International Association (TOPIA), Japan.

1. Greeting

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for coming despite your busy schedules. I am also grateful to TOPIA (Tokushima prefecture International Association) for organizing this talk. I am very happy to spend this afternoon with you and talk about Bhutan and Gross National Happiness (GNH).

2. What is GNH?

Many of you must be wondering what GNH is. GNH is Bhutan's unique development philosophy that seeks to take into account the non-material aspects of development and find a balance between material prosperity and spiritual wellbeing. GNH is deeply rooted in Bhutan's traditional socio-economic thought, though it gained prominence after our fourth King propounded "Gross national Happiness is more important than the Gross National product".

Conventional development philosophy places too much emphasis on economic development. In the process, some more important aspects of our life are left out. GNH does not reject economic development as being unimportant. However, in a GNH economy, economic development is seen only as a means to achieve higher ends, and not as an end in itself.

GNH is not a new concept for Bhutan. It lies deeply rooted in our culture. However, the world has only recently started paying attention to GNH. Obviously, some people are beginning to ask questions about where the present madness about increasing production and consumption and environmental degradation is finally going to finally lead us all to.

3. What is happiness?

GNH seeks to maximize happiness of the people. But what is happiness? According to Richard Layard, Director and founder of Center for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, happiness is feeling good -enjoying life and feeling it is wonderful. And unhappiness is feeling bad and wishing things were different. Further I would like to add that happiness is not the satisfaction of whatever irrational wishes you might blindly attempt to enjoy. Happiness is a state of non-contradictory joy - a joy without penalty or guilt.

Recent researchers like Richard Layard suggest that happiness can be measured and compared across people, and that public policy should be centered on increasing the happiness of people.

4. Why does happiness matter?

Why does happiness matter? It matters because it is something that every one of us wants to have. It is in our inborn nature to want to be happy. Early researchers like Bentham argued that all actions in the end are driven by our desire to feel good.

A development policy centered on happiness rather than the one on economic returns may seem out of place, even as a discussion topic for some people. But that is exactly what Bhutan has been following as a development philosophy until now and it is determined to continue to do so. Let me show you a video clip of our present Home Minister, Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley talking about GNH at the International Conference on GNH, held in Bhutan in 2003.

5. Why was Bhutan in a position to adopt GNH as a policy?

GNH is quite different from the conventional development approach followed by other countries. How did Bhutan come to adopt it?

While Bhutan's isolation and independence provided the environment to enable the development of a distinct concept, the substance was determined by the traditional culture and socio-economic system which are deeply embedded in Buddhist philosophy. In the Buddhist belief, the goal of every aspect of life is not seen in the multiplication of material wants, but in non-attachment, contentment and purification of the mind.

6. Brief historical background of Bhutan.

Now, I would like to give you a brief historical background of Bhutan so that you can understand what I am talking about more clearly.

First of all, let me show you where Bhutan is located on the globe. It is a small country, about the size of Kyushu, located between China and India.

Hidden in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan did not have much to do with the rest of the world until very recently. Neither the First World War, nor the Second World War had any direct impact on Bhutan.

It is of enormous pride to all Bhutanese that their country was never colonized. It was this relative isolation that helped Bhutan develop its own unique culture and political institutions, which we are today able adapt it and carry it into the present generation on our own terms.

Bhutan was a loose conglomeration of many semi-independent valleys ruled by different local lords. Local culture and traditions evolved around the principles of Buddhism which arrived in the 8th century. There are still temples dating back to that time.

Bhutan was united for the first time under a central authority by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the beginning of 17th Century. From then on, Bhutan came to be known as 'Drukyul' meaning 'the land of the thunder dragon'. Even today, we call our country 'Druk' or 'Drukyul' in Bhutanese instead of 'Bhutan' just as Japanese call their country 'Nihon' instead of 'Japan'. The dragon, whose color is white, holding jewels in its claws, forms the principal symbol on our national flag and it signifies strength, purity and prosperity.

After Zhabdrung's demise around mid 17th century, Bhutan went through an era marked by civil strife until the end of 19th century. By then, one of the regional lords from central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck, had emerged as the most powerful man in whole of Bhutan, having defeated all his enemies. As the people were too tired of the civil wars, they pledged their loyalty to him and made him the first hereditary king of Bhutan in 1907. That is how monarchy started in Bhutan. Since then, Bhutan has been blessed with an unprecedented era of peace, happiness and development. The present King is the fifth in line of the Wangchuck dynasty.

In Bhutan, we respect and love our King very much. In turn, we have been very lucky to have had very good and caring kings who always put the welfare of the people and the security of the country first. Under the guidance of such kings, we have been lucky to have had a fairly good system of governance.

Until 1959, Bhutan was almost totally isolated from the rest of the world. With the changing geopolitical scenario in the north, Bhutan began to develop its relations with India from 1959, and then began the modern development process of building a network of roads and modern schools in the country.

Yet Bhutan did not totally shed off its isolation, and it continued in some form until 1974 when the first tourists arrived in the country following the coronation of the fourth King of Bhutan.

This historical background clearly highlights why Bhutan was able to develop and nurture its own traditional development approach centering on the happiness of the people. Today, in terms of economic development, Bhutan is completely different country from what it was just 30 years ago. Roads, electricity, schools, television, Internet and even cellular phones have reached the most remote parts of the country. Yet, we have not lost our traditional culture and values which guide us and give us our identity.

7. Four policy areas of GNH in Bhutan

Bhutan has identified four broad policy areas for the enhancement of GNH. They are as follows:

a. Sustaiable and equitable socio economic development

As I pointed out earlier, GNH does not consider economic development as unimportant. In fact, it is very important for people who live in poverty. Researchers have observed that at the subsistence level, increase in income has a direct relation with the increase in happiness. But the same is not true after crossing a certain level of income as the following graph of income and happiness in the US will show.


Source: Richard Layard, Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures 2003,
http://cep.lse.ac.uk/events/lectures/layard/RL030303.pdf

While GNH considers economic development as important to end material poverty, the economic development activities to be chosen will not be evaluated based on the economic returns alone. The nature of economic activities chosen is as important as their results. Hence, an economic activity will not be undertaken even if there is a promise of huge financial gain, if it is going to cause damage to health, environment and culture of the people.

b. Conservation of environment

A healthy natural environment is very important for our health and happiness. In Bhutan, we are a mountainous country with 72% of our land area under forest cover. And 26% of it is turned into protected areas or wildlife sanctuaries. Our people have always lived close to nature in close harmony. In Buddhism, we have a strong belief in interdependence. We humans are not a superior creature, but only a link in the whole chain of living beings who depend on one other. As such, we have always had an inherent respect for nature. Thus, it is seen that Bhutan had a traditional conservation ethic dating decades before the global furor on environmental movements started.

c. Preservation and promotion of culture

From our culture, we derive our identity and values. If we do not preserve and promote our culture, it will be swept away by other cultures very easily as we are a small nation with a very small population. If that happens, our people will have no access to their own culture. As a result, they would not have their identity, and as an individual, they would not be as happy as they could be.

Today, we are proud to show our cultures to the world. Bhutan's unique architecture and 13 traditional crafts are well-preserved and practiced to this day.

d. Promotion of good governance

To be happy, our people need a guarantee of fairness and equality. Under the wise guidance of our dynamic Kings, Bhutan has focused on putting people at the centre-stage of decision making and improving transparency and accountability in the government institutions.

Our King has guided our government to be attentive to the needs of the people even when the people seem quite satisfied with their lives. For instance, to ensure a secure future for Bhutan, His Majesty the previous King has initiated changes to usher in democracy in 2008 even though people did not demand it.

8. Bhutan and GNH

Although Bhutan is one of the least developed countries, there is no extreme poverty in Bhutan. Bhutan has been ranked the 8th happiest nation in the world and the happiest in Asia in 2006 by Analytic Social Psychologist Adrian White, University of Leicester, UK, in his map of World Happiness.


Source: BBC News,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/28_07_06_happiness_map.pdf

Bhutan is the last surviving Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom. Buddhism forms part of the daily life of the people. Old people are respected and looked after by their children. Bhutan also boasts a rich and vibrant living culture. In order to give you a good idea of life in Bhutan, I would like to now show you a short video of a festival and a folk dance of Bhutan.

Bhutan has high potential for tourism industry. However, it is very cautious about the adverse effects of tourism on environment and culture, seen in other developing countries. Therefore, Bhutan promotes high value, low impact tourism. It charges all tourists a fixed daily rate of around 200 US dollars which includes meals, accommodation and guided tours.

Bhutan's concept of GNH has been strongly reflected in all its five-year plans for economic development. Since the start of the first five year plan 1961, it has come a long way.

Today, many remote areas of Bhutan are linked by roads. They have their own schools and clinics, piped water supply and in some cases, access to mobile phones, television and the Internet too. Health care is free, and education is free in government schools up to the university level. Bhutan is definitely changing very fast, but we are determined not to forget traditional culture and values at the same time.

9. Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to state that GNH is a balanced and holistic approach to development. I do not know if there is a need to measure GNH, but since the world is obsessed with figures, Bhutan is currently undertaking an exercise to develop a GNH index. As Bhutan has shown, GNH is a practical approach, not a utopian quest. It can find application not only in Bhutan, but also in other countries that are willing to give it a try. GNH may not only make the world a happier place to live in, but also save it from the environmental disaster that the conventional models of economic development are leading us to. GNH may truly serve as the development philosophy of the twenty first century for a secure and peaceful world.

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Posted on kuzuzangpo.com on 17 Feb 2007 by Cigay