1. A Critical Analysis of Degrowth Debates Through the Lens of Gross National Happiness (GNH): Refraining from the Conventional View of Plurality*
- Author:
- Katsu Masaki
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Bhutan Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
- Abstract:
- This study problematises degrowth’s goal of abandoning economic growth as a policy objective on the grounds that its advocates base their arguments on a binary growth/no-growth dichotomy and unwittingly activate the same economistic frame as the growth paradigm. To explore a remedy against this pitfall arising from the conventional view of plurality that segregates study materials into distinctive categories and prioritises one of them, Bhutan’s policy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) is taken up. The policy does not lapse into the growth/degrowth trap, refrains from rejecting economic growth of all kinds, and instead ascertains its potentially diverse connotations. GNH accordingly weighs growth-related indicators on equal terms with various others concerning social, cultural, spiritual and emotional contentment. The holistic approach of GNH helps rectify the prevailing hegemony of economic growth and thus provides a more effective pathway for attaining a postgrowth order.
- Topic:
- Economy, Economic Growth, Degrowth, and Gross National Happiness (GNH)
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and Bhutan