Bhutan Introduces a New "Happiness"-meter

Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/bhutan/8355028/Bhutans-Gross-National-Happiness-index.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/bhutan/8355042/More-and-more-world-leaders-want-happy-nations-not-just-rich-ones.html

Reliability:
-Authority: Both these articles were posted in The Telegraph, a British
newspaper. They were written by Dean Nelson, the South Asia Editor of the
Telegraph.
-Accuracy: He quotes Pavan K Verma, India's ambassador to Bhutan and refers to
decisions and statements made by several word leaders regarding implementing a
Gross National Happiness index.
-Timeliness: The article was published March 2, 2011.



Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk


Sure, we know the differences between first world and third world countries... but what actually
determines how successful or happy a country really is? Is it the average
income of citizens, the GDP, or something else entirely? In 1972, the King of
Bhutan wanted this answer and he came up with a new "Happiness"-meter. It was called the Gross National Happiness index and it was meant to measure "peoples' sense of being well-governed, their relationship with the environment, satisfaction with the pace of economic development, [and] a sense of cultural and national belonging." It quickly became popular with world leaders in western countries as well, such as Britain
and France.

Bhutan was revealed to have an extremely high happiness index. Most citizens who traveled abroad for further studies were most likely to return home and raise a family in Bhutan itself... despite the fact that they would be sacrificing a higher salary. India's Bhutanese ambassador, though, found some loopholes in this way of measuring happiness. Although citizens claimed high levels of happiness, the Census Bureau revealed that most women were accepting of the idea of domestic violence and even believed they deserved it at times.

These women consider themselves happy, but anyone from a western mindset would certainly not call their situations pleasant. Different countries and cultures have vastly different definitions of contentedness. Now the question that arises is this: Should they be considered happy? Is there any objective way to truly measure happiness? It seems the closer we look at happiness, the blurrier things become.