[…] It’s a country of people who believe in Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product. They understand that acquiring “stuff” does not make one happy. In general, they take pleasure in the simple things in life and appreciate their family and community.

Some of this is changing, however. The one “highway” is now being repaved and drivers are zooming around more quickly. More hotels are opening up to accommodate an expected influx of tourists.

Since it’s introduction to the country about 10 years ago, television has become popular (particularly Indian soap operas in Hindi) and cell phones are cropping up throughout the country.

Regardless of this “progress”, their laughter and good nature are infectious.

The one group of Bhutanese that we had the most interaction with were the children. Rarely shy to come say “hello”, we found them to be quite engaging and interested in us. One group of boys walked with us through a town singing songs at the tops of their little lungs.

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“Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.” So intoned American man of letters Henry Van Dyke. A noble vision of a less materialistic world, some might say — but is it something that can be quantified?

As a matter of fact, people in the rugged and remote Asian country of Bhutan are busy trying to “operationalize” a notion of true happiness that sounds a lot like Van Dyke’s dream.

In modern times, human prosperity and wellbeing have been measured by blunt economic standards, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), that are essentially gauges of economic activity. More often than not, however, these indicators fail to take account of whether that activity is good or bad. Perversely, a rise in crime rates may come across as an economic benefit because it stimulates economic activity: more crime leads to the building of more prisons, the hiring of more police, and so on. By the same dispassionate logic, natural disasters could also be seen as contributing to the economy, for example if they created a repair and reconstruction boom. It all depends on what you choose to count.

The alternative approach draws upon a broader set of social, environmental, and health indicators aimed at more accurately representing the real condition of society.

In Bhutan, this comprehensive indicator is charmingly known as Gross National Happiness (GNH)…

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