100% yes! Infinite growth isn't possible within our planetary boundaries. So, growth is clearly the wrong metric. I think the challenge comes in grappling what it will take for WEIRD (western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) countries to change. I'd be curious to learn how Bhutan got there. I believe they're one of the few countries who are on target for carbon reductions and they charge a daily stipend to tourist to cover environmental impacts of their visit. They're clearly a leader in citizen wellbeing. I love to see it!
I had not heard the acronym WEIRD before - but you're right that it might be harder for those nations to make systemic changes than for others. In the 1970s, it was Bhutan's then teenage king who initiated this approach. Since then Bhutan has become a democracy (it has a constitutional monarchy, which means also an elected prime minister and government - same system as the UK), but I think its population is less than a million people, so not nearly as many people have to be convinced of change as say, in the US!
The lack of comments or reactions here makes me wonder if indeed it’s easy to skim the title of this piece, decide it’s probably something silly, and move on. But I actually think this is dead on accurate in its entirety.
If a citizenry’s overall well-being can be measured - as it seems this Index makes a reasonable attempt to do - then that information is naturally going to be a better (more true) indication of the overall prosperity of a nation, or a neighborhood.
Though we are often taught that “happiness is a state of mind”, it is also a state of our ability to feel good in our bodies, to be able to love on our grandchildren, to breathe clean air, to settle our eyes on beautiful landscapes, to educate ourselves in anything we’re interested in pursuing, to contribute in some meaningful way, and to live in harmony with our neighbors. (And of course so much more.)
All of that is wrapped up in our economic health too. Yes. But one does not - perhaps cannot? - live without the other.
Noted comment on the potentially poor titling! :-) Perhaps it should have been 'Measuring our true wealth', or 'Development not Growth'.
I do really think that we should experiment with a similar index though - maybe one neighborhood, town, or state at a time. Could be an idea for a nonprofit to take forward....
100% yes! Infinite growth isn't possible within our planetary boundaries. So, growth is clearly the wrong metric. I think the challenge comes in grappling what it will take for WEIRD (western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) countries to change. I'd be curious to learn how Bhutan got there. I believe they're one of the few countries who are on target for carbon reductions and they charge a daily stipend to tourist to cover environmental impacts of their visit. They're clearly a leader in citizen wellbeing. I love to see it!
I had not heard the acronym WEIRD before - but you're right that it might be harder for those nations to make systemic changes than for others. In the 1970s, it was Bhutan's then teenage king who initiated this approach. Since then Bhutan has become a democracy (it has a constitutional monarchy, which means also an elected prime minister and government - same system as the UK), but I think its population is less than a million people, so not nearly as many people have to be convinced of change as say, in the US!
The lack of comments or reactions here makes me wonder if indeed it’s easy to skim the title of this piece, decide it’s probably something silly, and move on. But I actually think this is dead on accurate in its entirety.
If a citizenry’s overall well-being can be measured - as it seems this Index makes a reasonable attempt to do - then that information is naturally going to be a better (more true) indication of the overall prosperity of a nation, or a neighborhood.
Though we are often taught that “happiness is a state of mind”, it is also a state of our ability to feel good in our bodies, to be able to love on our grandchildren, to breathe clean air, to settle our eyes on beautiful landscapes, to educate ourselves in anything we’re interested in pursuing, to contribute in some meaningful way, and to live in harmony with our neighbors. (And of course so much more.)
All of that is wrapped up in our economic health too. Yes. But one does not - perhaps cannot? - live without the other.
Noted comment on the potentially poor titling! :-) Perhaps it should have been 'Measuring our true wealth', or 'Development not Growth'.
I do really think that we should experiment with a similar index though - maybe one neighborhood, town, or state at a time. Could be an idea for a nonprofit to take forward....