...And happiness for all!
"The financial crisis has shown that we rely too heavily on the market. Maybe this is why there is such interest in Bhutan at the moment. We have shown that there could be a better, more balanced approach to these issues". These words belong to Karma Tshiteem of the so called Gross National Happiness Commission of Bhutan. The Bhutanese are the only people who, apart from the standard measure of GDP also use a unique measure for national happiness.
And what we're talking about here is not some superficial entertainment, bread and circuses or any such stuff that we somehow confuse for "happiness". The word happiness has a much deeper meaning of satisfaction in this context. It's mostly satisfaction with one's life that can't be bought with money and material acquisitions. It's something that rests inside oneself and doesn't come from outside stimulae. At least that's how the Bhutanese are trying to explain it, but I can see how it could be a very difficult concept to understand, especially for us Westerners who are so obsessed with our "way of life" that we can't possibly see other forms and sources of happiness than what we usually perceive as "success" and "being successful".
The Bhutanese obviously are seeing happiness in a very different way. External sources of satisfaction, like sporty cars, a huge mansion, trendy clothes - all of this is seen as merely a fleeting thing that doesn't matter, and couldn't give you anything but a desire to acquire more of it. Which is not exactly happiness.
And here comes the most blasphemous part (from a Western standpoint): the role of the government. Can a government provide happiness? We'd say no. In Bhutan however, the state considers it obligation #1 to create favorable conditions for its citizens and to provide an environment where they could strive for happiness, and achieve it. Happiness the way they understand it, not one that's being imposed upon them from outside their society. And apparently it's working, because Bhutan has consistently ranked around the top in the "gross national happiness", which, again, was coined by Bhutan's king, I have to say. So it must be biased, for sure. But on the other hand, the formula seems to have worked. The point is, it would hardly work for other societies that don't have the same specifics as Bhutan, granted. If anything, Bhutan is extremely small and culturally homogeneous.
On the other hand, obviously we're talking of a more spiritual approach here. After all, that's Asia. What some of us in the West are trying to achieve individually through yoga or meditation or sports or some other means, in Bhutan has been "kind of" state-mandated. The government as a bringer of happiness, so to speak. Is that even possible? Of course the Bhutanese government officials have no doubt that it is. "Our concept of happiness rests upon four pillars. The first is the just and sustainable social-economic development. Second, preservation of the environment. Third, preservation and encouraging of our culture and tradition. And four, wise government rule. The best example in this respect is our royal family" - words of Kinley Dorji, the secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications.
I can almost hear you saying the words that are also at the tip of my tongue... fingers... whatever: The Bhutanese people are obligated to be happy, as it turns out. Right? I knew that thought would cross your mind, because it crossed mine, too. But would we be so hasty to judge from the POV of our very different culture? Not so fast...
In fact it's not just official statements coming from politicians, it's mostly local ordinary people explaining where their sense of happiness is stemming from. And, turns out it's got very little to do with the actual government. It's more related to the specific family system in Bhutan. People live in large families there, many generations under the same roof, and respect for the elderly is an unwritten law number 1. People live under much less stress there, for obvious reasons. No pressure from globalization, no hectic business life, absence of an urbanized, hyper-anthropogenic environment. One could live for a hundred years and more like that.
And what about those who don't exactly fit into the frame of the traditional heterosexual family norm? In a documentary I saw, a young Bhutanese guy, who quite tellingly preferred to stay anonymous, explained that the homosexual men would better live as monks in a Buddhist monastery. Meanwhile the youngster believes that if there was an open and free gay scene in Bhutan, the local society would've accepted it anyway, because it's flexible enough to welcome change and transformation. I doubt it would happen so easily, but again, what do I know?
Actually Bhutan drew attention a few years ago when it completely banned smoking in all public places, long before the rest of the world. And while smoking isn't banned in all places (not at home, for example), selling tobacco is. Completely banned. Which means that smokers would have to import their tobacco on their own, from abroad. At a very steep price. And this has had the desired effect. But the tiny Tibetan country still has some other problems, like alcoholism, drugs, etc. And not only that. It's not like the problems that exist in other countries are absent in Bhutan, not at all. Youth unemployment for example - it's somewhere around 10% in Bhutan.
It's a very conservative society, which is evident from their laws about clothing if you like. Bhutan has started gradually opening up to foreign tourism in recent years. But in case you're planning to go, keep in mind that it's not cheap at all. They take a $200 daily fee just for staying there. Despite their seclusion though, the assault of the modern world (tourism, television, internet) looks irreversible.
At a first sight this tiny kingdom in the middle of the mountains may look like a realm straight from a fairy tale. And in many ways, it is. The architecture and the local customs surely make you think so. But the truth is that people there don't live in fabulous palaces and they don't toss bank notes at each other instead of cricket balls. In essence, people in Bhutan are very poor from a material point of view. Among the poorest in the world. But it seems that this hasn't affected their sense of happiness very much. And that might make us ask ourselves if happiness, the way we interpret it, really is the real thing, or something else.