In the Kingdom of Bhutan, the philosophy of “Gross National Happiness” called into question

To vote, you sometimes have to walk for days. In Bhutan, the democratic exercise is of the highest order for the approximately 800,000 inhabitants of this small kingdom landlocked between China and India. The country's Buddhist tradition calls for calm and serenity, including during electoral campaigns. “Here, things are not said to be too strong,” confides Jean-Joseph Boillot, associate researcher at IRIS and author of the book Utopies made in world (Odile Jacob, 2021).

In recent weeks, however, one subject has emerged during the legislative election campaign: reviving the economy. The national philosophy of happiness, which has inspired public policies for more than 50 years, is being undermined by the difficulties facing Bhutan. With falling tourist revenues and weak growth, poverty and youth unemployment are increasing in the “land of happiness”. The next government has the ambition to bring back smiles, even if it means reforming an economic model that has reached its limits.

At the end of the vote, the second round of which was held on January 10, the Bhutanese inherit a new prime minister. It is the return to power of a “seasoned politician”, in the words of the ethnologist specializing in the country Françoise Pommaret. At 58, Tshering Tobgay becomes prime minister again, a position he had already held between 2013 and 2018. His party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), obtained more than two thirds of the seats in Parliament. The Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP) won the rest.

Quite rare to underline this, “these are democratic elections with political parties alternating in power”, insists the French researcher who has been there for many years. But Bhutan is especially famous for a unique characteristic: being the only country in the world not to use GDP to measure the weight of its economy, but GNH for “Gross National Happiness” (GNH).

Designed in 1972 by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck and then included in the 2008 Constitution, this index is based on the degree of citizen satisfaction as a development indicator. But Françoise Pommaret warns: the reality is totally different from the fantasized vision of “happy, blissful Bhutanese who meditate all day.” In reality, GNH is based on four pillars: good governance, environmental preservation, respect for culture and sustainable development. The harmonious articulation of these variables contributes to the “raw” happiness of Bhutanese citizens. But despite all its good intentions, this model is today in crisis

Bhutan has suffered the full brunt of the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic which has brought tourism, the main provider of capital to the Himalayan kingdom, to a grinding halt. Since 2020, the country has had a series of difficulties: a glaring lack of infrastructure, persistent poverty and unemployment which affects nearly 30% of young people. Many of them leave the country in search of economic opportunities in Australia, Japan or Canada.

For Jean-Joseph Boillot, there is a “scissor effect” between the slowdown of the economy, whose growth has stagnated at around 1.6% for 5 years, and this dissatisfaction of young Bhutanese who are struggling to find a job. Now “a part of the population wants to give in to the sirens of productivism”, remarks the economist, for whom the subject of reforming the GNH has become “a real subject of debate”.

It is still too early to predict the action of the government of Tshering Tobgay, who promised “mountains and wonders” during his campaign, believes Françoise Pommaret. “There will indeed be developments with incentives for the establishment of certain industries,” he continues, “but the government, like the citizens, do not want polluting factories” like the special economic zone planned for the border with India to the South.

Ecology remains at the heart of the “Gross National Happiness” strategy in one of the only countries in the world to have a negative carbon footprint, i.e. its capacity to absorb greenhouse gases is greater than its propensity to emit. The forest, which covers 70% of the Himalayan territory, is protected by a very strict logging policy, as well as by national parks. “You have to keep in mind the lush and diverse environment of Bhutan. We go from a high mountain biome in the Himalayan range to tropical forests! » marvels Ms. Pommaret, also author of a cultural guide to the country (ed. Olizane, 2018). There is no question of returning to this key pillar of BNB.

Rather than cutting back on the forest, we must adapt. In any case, it is at the heart of the “mindfulness city” project. This city thought and designed by the popular king Jigme Khesar Wangchuck, son of the creator of BNB, combines economic development, ecological imperatives and Bhutanese spiritual tradition. Numerous parks and forests will border the places of worship and the various business or residential districts planned in this royal project located in the south of the country, not far from Gelephu, on the border with Indian Assam.

This location owes nothing to chance. Bhutan is moving closer to India, to which the mountainous country already exports more than 70% of the energy produced by its hydroelectric dams. To the great dismay of China, which wishes to integrate the kingdom into its new Silk Roads, dear to President Xi Jinping. “These two big neighbors who are competing for Bhutan’s favors don’t care about the approach in terms of happiness” analyzes Jean-Joseph Boillot.

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But the economic system of the two geopolitical giants is not so envious of the Bhutanese population. Considering the inequalities generated by excessive productivism on both sides of the landlocked territory, these models give the image of a GDP reduced to “Gross Internal Rot”, in the words of the economist.

The Gross National Happiness approach does not claim to be an example to imitate. For Françoise Pommaret, “the historical or economic conditions of another country could not duplicate this type of policy. » The Bhutanese case, on the other hand, invites us to “question ourselves”, continues the specialist, at a time when the search for growth collides with the climate emergency. To meditate.