"Gross National Happiness?" (contentment vs. consumerism)

[wildflower]

Something to think about this holiday season.

Gross National Happiness?
Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan Favors Contentment Over Commerce

You cannot get much further from America. You could call the tiny, landlocked nation of Bhutan the anti-greed country: an ancient Himalayan kingdom where yaks roam the hills and every trail ends at a Buddhist monastery. Forty years ago, it had no roads; today, there are still no traffic lights in a country of only 700,000 people … a nation ranked near the bottom of the world's development scale.

When the standard is production and consumption, Bhutan simply can't compete, so it came up with its own way to measure progress, an alternative to the world's economic scale. Instead of seeking a gross national product, the official goal here is gross national happiness. The policy was decreed by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck — by all accounts, an enlightened monarch.

"Just the fact that a leader of a country has stated that happiness is more important than production, I mean, it takes guts to say that, you know," says Tshewang Dendup, a journalist with the Bhutan Broadcasting Service. "He basically meant, let my people be happy, you know. And how do you be happy? Well, if kids go to school, kids that live healthy, and if the forests are there, you take them out on walks on the weekends." And that, he agreed, is the opposite of a consumer society.

...

In other words, don't be greedy … appreciate what you have, which here means vast stretches of protected wilderness that have made Bhutan one of the trekking capitals of the world. The Bhutanese are also committed to preserving their unique culture. They want to grow, but carefully, so they don't lose their identity as the only Buddhist kingdom in the world.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/International/story?id=1296605

[panader0]

1. I have always measured success

By happiness. I have known rich, consumer minded people that are terribly unhappy, mostly because they work so much to make the bucks to buy the things that make them acceptable to other rich folks. They get ulcers with their big homes.

[wildflower]

3. I can believe that. Wasn't modern society supposed to be easier?

With all its technology? There's too much to do and take care of.

It's also interesting and sad to compare the above article with this topic in GD:

Wal-Mart Black Friday Shopping Frenzy Results in Melees and Trampling

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5452763&mesg_id=5452763

wildflower

[xchrom]

2. just imagine what this country would look like

if we did a one eighty -- and started caring for our collective happiness.

i can dream.

[wildflower]

4. I sometimes wonder if consuming is a way to avoid the worsening situation

on our planet. It seems to be getting ever more desperate. I can understand what it's like to feel that pull to get lost in something mindless and to seek constant 'newness'.

I share your dream...I wish everyone did.

wildflower

[BiggJawn]

9. Well, I think consuming is the CAUSE of a lot of our problems.

We need a lot of oil. So-dam Insane has a lot of oil. Let's make him the poster child for Evil Incarnate and take him out and take all the oil.

The happy-looking people on Teee-Veee tell us that mass acquisition is the True Path to happiness, but only if you can buy more stuff for less. But Bush chides Hu on the trade inequitity between the US and our main creditor.

So you have a mindset that approves stepping on another person's face to get that $140 Laptop.

[wildflower]

14. This is true...a vicious cycle. How do we break it?

Can we break it? Is it not too late?

wildflower

[Greyhound]

22. I wonder too. It would completely destroy our economy as it exists

but *Co. is doing that already so I'm wondering if this isn't a good time to change it. I know if everybody lived as I do, we couldn't sustain anything like the situation we have now. China would lose their whole manufacturing base because they don't make anything I need or want. Japan would be hurt too because I drive a car until it cannot be fixed anymore (my Japanese car is 19 years old, has 220,000 miles on it and is still going strong).
OTOH it would necessitate a resurgence in manufacturing here. So we could make the products we do need and won't be able to afford to get from other places.

[xchrom]

10. well, if we're speaking consuming, buying stuff

i certainly like to shop.

though i get the point of the bhutan example.

but i think that it would be mindful to examine how we have come down this road.

we pretty much decided that everybody of all economic stripes should be able to buy just about anything.

what if -- instead of products made willy nilly all over the price landscape -- a generation or three of consumers were raised that loved quality?
that were willing to save to buy the BEST that they could afford?
that had an appreciation for things that weren't massed produced -- that apllied to craftsmen and women the status that would go to dr's and lawyers in a different time?

when i buy -- i tend to save and buy the best that i can.
so i don't buy often -- but it's really good to be on my gift giving list.

i guess i'm saying there are variations on the bhutan theme one can play -- and still get a ''simpler'' life.

[wildflower]

12. re: generations that save for quality

Isn't that how things used to be? More so, at least. More local mom and pop stores, less corporatism.

Most people kept their jobs and supported their families, and people saved to buy quality products (which, if broken, could be fixed rather than thrown away for new ones).

Maybe I am romanticizing a bit, but things have changed. How much is the question.

wildflower

[xchrom]

17. i'd like to think that isn't romanticizing.

it is thoughtful however -- and if we're thinking about building a society -- i'd like it to be a thoughtful process.

i'm not sure that we've ever built a counterbalance to mass production.

[tlsmith1963]

13. There is Definitely a Disconnect

People seem more & more desperate to consume. I think this is why we saw people fighting over computers on TV. It's disgusting. We need to solve our problems, or these people will never be able to mindlessly consume again. How will they deal with it? Not well, I'm afraid.

Tammy

[Telly Savalas]

20. While fighting over computers is certainly inappropriate behaviour

How can one call buying a computer "mindless consumerism"? Don't we all use computers to post here?

[Cerridwen]

5. How would the U.S. be different if the early European settlers

had come with a Protestant Play ethic rather than the Protestant Work ethic?

From the article: "Gross national happiness is a bold idea, but now that Bhutan has let the world in, can it keep greed out? It's definitely worth praying for."

I'll add my prayers to theirs.

[wildflower]

6. It looks like the place in the article (Bhutan) is in danger

This makes me so sad. We can spend so much time trying to preserve individual natural refuges, but they may be ruined anyway by global causes.

Glaciers pose massive threat to millions

Millions of people living in and below the Himalayas are facing potential disaster, according to a report recently in Nature magazine. The magazine said there has been a tenfold increase in events such as the 1985 destruction of the village of Ghat in Nepal.

In that instance, a lake high in the mountains became swollen with glacier meltwater and burst its banks, sending a torrent of water plunging down the mountainside, destroying everything in its path.

Scientists say more and more Himalayan glacier lakes are filling up with increased melted ice, and at least 24 are poised to escape their banks in Bhutan, with a like number ready to burst out in Nepal.

http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index.pl?cmd=viewstory&cat=2&id=11695

[1932]

7. I read a book recently that said that in the US people increasingly answer

the question "what is important to you?," A second car, color TVs, a swimming pool, while the numbers of people who say a satisfying job, family, friends decreases.

[tlsmith1963]

15. I Would Say...

...control over my life. I feel I have no control, especially with an uncaring jerk like Bush as President. I want to stop worrying about my future. I want *everyone* to have a more peaceful life. All this anxiety stinks.

Tammy

[Ysolde]

8. Okay, so my take on this is...

that the "Black Friday" phenomenon seems to be a bit like mass hysteria caused by subliminal mind control in every segment of the media. I'm not really espousing a conspiracy theory that we're lab rats in a big experiment, but the insanity that occurred yesterday (and before, with the Xbox 360's going for upwards of $5000) does make you wonder what can turn so many "normal" folks crazy over a few bits of plastic and metal. Especially, when so many in "power" keep talking about their Christianity and the "meaning for the season". Seems like the consumerism needed to keep Corporate America afloat is trashing any sense of reality and happiness. After all, if you are content you don't need to buy the next "great" thing.

:tinfoilhat:

edited to add clarity (not enough coffee, yet)

[wildflower]

16. I think the economy is part of it

But the advertising/media is as well, you're absolutely right. I heard that Walmart got much more aggressive this year to get people in the stores, because of a lackluster holiday season last year.

I also think consuming is a way to help fill the void and the anxiety caused by what's happening around us. I wonder how many people in America are not afraid for the future?

wildflwer

[Lorien]

21. I have a formally wealthy friend who is a shopaholic

She was my boss when I was working in the film industry (a superficial society within our superficial society). Her relationships-family, friends,significant others-were all a mess, and her job was very stressful, so she 'coped" with it all by shopping. Now she is in her late 50s, unemployed with a large home in Glendale that is filled to bursting with STUFF; it's so bad that you can't walk into the guest house or garage anymore. I visited her last year and every day about 6-8 boxes from eBay purchases would arrive; shoes, clothing, garden statues, jewelry, antiques...it's completely out of control. She gets really excited about her new purchases until they arrive, then she kicks herself for spending the money.Needless to say she has no savings and is absolutely miserable. I wish there were a 12 step problem for this disorder; I fear that nothing short of bankruptcy will curb her shopping. :-(

[xchrom]

23. there is a 12 step for this.

try googling shop-aholics anonymous -- i think you'll get a bite.

or over-spenders anonymous -- i have friends in those programs so i know they exist.

[tlsmith1963]

11. Consumerism Sucks

I never could be happy with it, anyway. I tend to like things that aren't "mainstream" enough. You don't know how many favorite TV-series I have lost to low ratings. I have loved bands that are more popular elsewhere. I tend to judge things on quality, not popularity. So I always lose out. I cannot understand people who always have to like the "hot" things. I saw many of them at the mall yesterday. What pathetic people. Ugh.

Tammy

[depakid]

18. Thank you for this

So much of what we see here is depressing- it's nice to know that places like Bhutan exist, and that our kids and grandkids have something to look forward to building in the post peak oil era.

[wildflower]

24. I hope it continues to exist (see post #6 above). We need

more examples of hope to look to.

Fear is a great motivator, but I believe hope can be even stronger (for example, when I look at the accomplishments of people like MLK and Gandhi).

I would like to see more films* out there about what the world could be and how we could work together to make it so.

*and other forms of art

wildflower

[renie408]

19. I saw this on TV!! (a bit of irony there, eh?) I thought it was totally...

cool. I would so much like to raise my children to understand THIS concept of success rather than the consumerism based concept.

(I write this on the laptop that I just used to buy my son an iPod from eBay for Christmas while I watch our widescreen TV and before I go surfing for a new saddle for my daughter (she has outgrown the old one), which I have to have done by 1:00 because I have an appointment to get my arcylic nails filled in at 1:30.And we are NOT wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. I think I need to do some spiritual work on needing THINGS less myself.)