"Gross National Happiness" with Dr. Michael Givel

How do we know our government is doing a good job? How do we measure the success or failure of a nation? This very old question has many answers, and the modern Western metric is largely based in the concepts of macroeconomics. This means that a nation is doing well if measures of economic health, such as Gross Domestic Product, are favorable. These economic measures tend to ignore modern societal ills, such as drug abuse, illiteracy, mental health issues, and the like. As a response to this, the country of Bhutan created a different measure of societal success, which they call "Gross National Happiness." This Thursday, Dr. Michael Givel of OU's Political Science department will discuss his research on this concept, and how it is rooted in the philosophical beliefs of the founders of Bhutan as a country several hundred years ago. He will give first hand details of his visit to Bhutan, and his observations of the society that places a premium on happiness, rather than production and consumption. Don't miss it!