Gross National Happiness
Gross National Happiness
Last week, with an assist from Michael Pollan, I wrote about expanding definitions of “success” beyond efficiency and other easily quantified metrics. A prime example of this at the national level is Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness index, which includes nine domains:
psychological wellbeing
health
education
time use
cultural diversity and resilience
good governance
community vitality
ecological diversity and resilience
living standards
Bhutan is making news for being a rare COVID success story, and, while I can’t declare causation, it is an interesting connection. I agree with this assessment from Asaf Bitton, executive director of Ariadne Labs in Boston:
“People say the COVID disaster in America has been about a denial of science. But what we couldn’t agree on is the social compact we would need to make painful choices together in unity, for the collective good.”
This will be difficult in a large, diverse nation, much less a hyper-partisan one like the United States. At the very least, it’s good to know that the American way is not the only way to measure an economy.
