GNH vs. Globalization

This article is yet to appear in Bhutan Times

I am proud of my country. And so are my thirty nine other classmates. We represent twenty different nationalities and we are learning globalization in a truly global environment. It is interesting to learn different cultures and share experiences. As many Bhutanese would do when they go outside I also share with them about our Noble concept, Gross National Happiness. Indeed, they are fascinated and want to know more about the concept. Realizing GNH in the wake of globalization is challenge but in order to make judicious use of globalization one will need GNH.
World is battling with a change today. And that change is globalization, an inevitable change. It is something that we have brought forward, good or bad, from the twentieth century. It is sweeping across borders, impacting all aspects of human lives, be it social, cultural, political, economical or environmental. With the rapid advancement in communication technologies the pace is even faster than expected.
Globalization is so unequal. It helps produce integration but also marginalization. It helps produce development but also underdevelopment. It has brought new threats, including environmental hazards and terrorism. It helps promote democracy but also corruption. It helps bring peace but also conflicts. We do not have to look anywhere. It is happening right in our neighborhood. What do we do about this? How do we confront this change? The answer lies in our GNH.
Like many Bhutanese I believe in GNH. But I also know that there are many who do not. In fact some of them are within my own circle of friends and colleagues. I must admit that the idea of writing this article was born when I went through an article in one of the online blogs originating from Bhutan. The author writes about GNH being a ‘faked reality’. I did make a comment on the article and I want to write it here again, at least for non-believers, that GNH doesn’t have a set target to realize. How old is GNH? A decade, or two? It is really a short span of time to reap the benefits. If you look at the Danish Welfare State for instance, it took hundreds of years to build and rebuild. It dates back to early 1800s. I am referring to Denmark’s model because they were the happiest nation on earth in the first ever ‘world map of happiness’ published in November 2006. Bhutan was in eighth position, way ahead of many developed nations. So, economic growth could be a necessary condition but not a sufficient condition for happiness.
Let’s look at the four pillars of GNH in the context of globalization.
When globalization visited homes people embraced it so fast that they forgot to look back the trails left behind. Now human beings are paying the price for it. Global warming is real and happening. Globalization has brought one of gravest dangers to the mankind and the planet earth. Let’s talk about our own Gangri Himalayas. Studies show that glaciers in the Himalayan regions are retreating. It is predicted that temperature in the sub-continent would increase to 5.5 degree Celsius by 2100 from what is 3.5 degrees Celsius today. It is predicted that a 1 degree Celsius in temperature would cause alpine glaciers worldwide to shrink by as much as 40 percent.
So, what is an answer to this? The answer lies in the first pillar of GNH, i.e. preservation of environment.
We have been doing something that the world has failed or rather forgot to do; to live and coexist with the nature. Our vigorous programmes and policies to conserve our environment have raised the eyebrows of many countries and leaders in the world. Wow, where in the world do you get to inhale such kind of pure and clean air! That was a remark made by a tourist who visited Bhutan recently.
Undoubtedly, we are the champions of environment conservation. Our draft Constitution guarantees, under the Article 5, that the government shall ensure a minimum of sixty percent of its total land be maintained under forest cover for all time. Which country would have such a law? None, I guess.
Globalization and westernization are used interchangeably, mostly by the developing nations. And it is true that westernization has swept across borders. Traditional values and cultures have become thing of the past in most countries. Where do you see people wearing their national dress? In some countries it is worn only on special occasion. In most countries national dresses have faded away and have taken special place in Museums. Curious to know, I asked my friend from Belarus about his national costumes. “I am not sure. Maybe it is lying there in the Museum,” he tells me candidly. I once attended a gathering in Gho and stole all others’ attention. It took me all through the evening explaining about our national dress among others. A Bhutanese lady working as an air attendant in the Middle East says something like this: “I have never realized that we have such a unique, rich culture and tradition. I am dying to get back to my country.”
We have our culture and tradition still intact and vibrant; be it religion, architecture, music, language, dress, food, and so on.
Pizzas and McDonalds may have come to Thimphu but we still love our Emadatshi, Shakam, and Sikam. “When you go out of the country first thing you miss about Bhutan, even before your wife and kid, is our food,” says a friend of mine studying in Bangkok.
So, we are still able to preserve our own unique culture and tradition even when globalizing forces around. And because of this we were able to remain as a sovereign nation and that too in a region where history is not so pleasant. Thanks to our generation of farsighted leaders and ancestors. That is the second pillar of GNH, preservation and promotion of culture.
One of the biggest drawbacks of globalization is that it is so unequal. The so called ‘haves and have nots’ are product of globalization. Economic globalization brings economic growth but it also brings underdevelopment. Two of the world’s largest growing economies are right in our neighborhood, but these two countries are also home to large number of poor. Despite growth miracle in China inequality has risen sharply. In 2005, top 10 percent earned 45 percent of the income, while the bottom 10 percent earned only 1.4 percent. In India, despite successful economic growth 35 percent of the population still live below $ 1 a day, and as much as 80 percent live below $ 2 a day.
What could be the solution to this? The answer is sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, the third pillar of GNH.
It is true we lag behind in equitable development but we also must not forget that modernization began very late. And I personally feel that it is a blessing in disguise. We can learn from the mistakes made by other countries and choose a cautious approach towards balanced growth. In fact the second MDG Progress Report published in December 2005 says that Bhutan is well on track on achieving the MDGs by the target year of 2015. Not only MDGs there are positive growth in other sectors as well. It is just a matter of time.
Globalization brings freedom and democracy. But if misused it breeds corruption. In most countries leaders and politicians have used it for their personal gains, resulting into internal conflicts and corruption. In Bhutan we are blessed to have visionary leaders in our Monarchs. “The rise in corruption in Bhutan is a challenge we face. How big the challenge is will depend on how soon and how strongly we decide to oppose it. There is no room for corruption-it is as simple as that, not now and not in the future,” (His Majesty the King).
In recent times, especially after the establishment of ACC, people have started to talk about corruption more openly. Judiciary is becoming more efficient and transparent, so too are other organizations. Our media are becoming bolder and so are the people. Democratically elected government in 2008 will be even more obliged to become efficient, transparent, and accountable as there is somebody, in the form of opposition and general public, constantly watching. “Earlier, we were the servants of the government; now, with democracy, we are the servants of the people,” PDP president Sangay Ngedup was quoted as saying by Kuensel. This is what I call ‘Good Governance’ and the fourth pillar of our GNH.
In sum, these inevitable globalizing forces of globalization have come here to stay. But we have an instrument, in the form of GNH, to sift which is good and which is bad. Skeptics would argue on the basis of measurement of GNH. Well, happiness is abstract and cannot be quantified. But, it doesn’t mean that it is not there. At least the ways to maximize happiness is correct.
Meanwhile, my Kenyan friend asks me, “How is the Gross National Happiness man?” “Well, good,” I replied. “How about yours,” I asked him. “I went to the Church this morning. Feeling good and satisfied,” was his answer. “That’s called spiritual happiness. Contentment is Happiness. And that is what we call Gross National Happiness,” I said as we made our way for another day’s lecture.


Please note that I am neither an expert on GNH nor on Globalization. It is just a layman’s understanding of GNH. I hope that my interpretation here would convince some of our non-believers that GNH is indeed in the making.