Most people strive for economic wealth in an attempt to pursue happiness. Those who manage to succeed tend to live a comfortable life. However, for the majority of us, we always seek to achieve more. This makes us upset, miserable and unhappy. In the ruthless hunt for money huge parts of the environment are destroyed. The negative externalities that evolve from this are far greater than what some may realise. This is where the concept of GNH (Gross National Happiness) came about. The ideology behind it is that, every human being aspires for happiness, therefore countries should be measured in terms of citizen happiness.
GNH is based around nine main indicators which are broken down into categories of further detail. These indicators include: Living standards, Psychological Well-being Ecological Diversity and Resilience Community Vitality, Good Governance, Cultural Diversity and Resilience, Education, Time Use and Health. Research into "What makes people happy?" evidently showed being around people with similar interests and through supporting local traditions and cultural heritage led to both a stronger community feeling and increase in positive energy.
GNH is based around nine main indicators which are broken down into categories of further detail. These indicators include: Living standards, Psychological Well-being Ecological Diversity and Resilience Community Vitality, Good Governance, Cultural Diversity and Resilience, Education, Time Use and Health. Research into "What makes people happy?" evidently showed being around people with similar interests and through supporting local traditions and cultural heritage led to both a stronger community feeling and increase in positive energy.
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) can be defined as:
"The monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period, though GDP is usually calculated on an annual basis. It includes all of private and public consumption, government outlays, investments and exports less imports that occur within a defined territory."
For most data comparisons this measurement is used. The benefits are that it can assess all aspects of the economy, such as investment and government expenditure, while other methods don't. Also, if Real GDP is used then inflation rates are not accounted for and true values of growth can be measured. This is all well and good for finding out how productive an economy is, but, what it doesn't determine is the happiness of an economy.
This leads me on to ask the question, are these so-called developed countries as advanced as they seem? Or, are such renowned measures equivocating in order to hide the truth behind a melancholy nation?
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