I have been asked about the criteria by which Gross NationalHappiness is judged. They are:

Psychological wellbeing
Health
Time use
Education
Cultural diversity and resilience
Good governance
Community vitality
Ecological diversity and resilience
Living standard

Gross National Happiness in Bhutan is overseen by the GNH Commission, which scrutinises and approves each piece of government policy and each piece of legislation to ensure that it meets the four pillars of GNH in government:

Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development
Conservation of the environment
Preservation and promotion of culture
Good governance

By taking the focus of national development away from the economy and providing a broad foundation of well-being for people and place, the Bhutanese government is trying to achieve something that wealthy developed nations are moving further away from: the well-being of all people and a respect for the environment.

Epicurus would be delighted that any government should be enlightened enough to care about the general happiness of the people! In America it is the corporations they worry about, for instance.

The GNH is an important principle, absolutely Epicurean, and clearly hard to achieve. I will try to address the nine criteria and discuss what needs to be done, and how society should be adjusted, to meet them. An unrewarding effort? Maybe, but we are young at heart and like to dream! And why not?