the modernity factor
related to previous posts about affluenza and anxiety and the paralysis of too many choices:
i was reading recently a study that correlated lack of choice in certain cultures with greater happiness – that “simplicity of life” correlates to calmer, happier citizens as opposed to cultures such as ours full of angsty citizens who have too much to choose from (similar to ideas behind communism, the Amish, and other minimalist cultures) – and then yesterday read in the news that people of Bhutan were resisting their new democracy. they don’t want democracy; they want a king. their bucolic mountain nation has been very successful under the monarchy, their king has put “gross national happiness” above all else, and many fear that democracy will only bring strife and the western problems that comes with it. so is there a correlation, then – do the Bhutanese correlate fewer choices with happiness, or do they just not trust democracy? i wonder.
the question National Geographic currently asks about Bhutan and also Iceland (another small, sheltered nation), and many others have asked about the general course of modernity is this: can you be part of the modern world without losing your soul?
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