If the “Digital-Dignity Economy” described in last week’s article became reality, an ethically guided form of digital-dignity capitalism, then Gross National Happiness could become a global standard.

We’d be free to design systems where:

• People earn enough to live and dream because their basic needs are met
• Theft becomes rare because their basic needs are met
• Drug abuse declines and may even become obsolete, because basic needs are met
• Parents spend time with their children because their basic needs are met
• Artists create without starving because their basic needs are met
• Innovators create because basic needs are met
• Philosophers contemplate, write, and collaborate because their basic needs are met
• Communities help each other instead of competing because their basic needs are met
• Mental health improves, not because we medicate better, but because our basic needs are met

We could stop measuring how much we take and start measuring how much we feel.

What Bhutan Can Teach Us

There’s a small country tucked between the Himalayas that dares to measure its success differently from the rest of the world.

Bhutan.

While most nations obsess over GDP—Gross Domestic Product—Bhutan chooses to measure Gross National Happiness (GNH). Not just economic output, but well-being. Not just wealth, but joy, community, health, and purpose.

Imagine that. A government that asks:

Are our people happy?
Not: Are they working more hours, buying more things, or increasing shareholder profit, but are they flourishing?

The Future Bhutan Hinted At

Now imagine combining Bhutan’s moral wisdom with modern tools, AI, automation, and a resource-based digital dignity capitalism.

Imagine if we measured happiness as the true economic indicator, while using the productive power of AI to ensure everyone had what they needed. The capitalist aspect can get them what they want.

That’s not a fantasy. It’s a possibility we’re quickly approaching or quickly wasting.

We now have the tools to give everyone:

• Basic needs to live
• Extra income potential
• Good wages
• Access to health care
• Safe housing and transportation
• Time—precious, precious time—for family, art, hobbies, love, rest

So why are we still clinging to systems that make survival feel like a luxury?

The Link Between Happiness and Economics

Bhutan’s GNH is built on four philosophical pillars:

1. Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development

2. Environmental conservation

3. Preservation of culture

4. Good governance

These aren’t just nice ideals, they’re practical metrics that recognize a profound truth: humans are not machines.  We need connection, purpose, belonging, and time.

When those things are taken from us in the name of “productivity,” we become anxious, addicted, angry, and numb.

It’s no coincidence that in wealthier nations, especially the U.S., depression, addiction, and loneliness are the forerunners of people’s experiences. What are we really measuring with GDP? And at what cost?

Not Just “Economy,” but “Democracy”: A Digital-Dignity Democracy of the People, for the People, by the People…

Although Bhutan’s ideals are solid, its governance is a monarchy. And we do NOT want that!  What we still want is a democracy, but not just one that gives people a vote; it gives them a life worth voting for.

AI and digital tools can decentralize wealth, but only if we pair them with a new moral compass. Not one dictated by GDP or profit margins, but by compassion, freedom, and joy.

This is what philosophy must do in our modern world:

Help us ask the bigger questions.

What is wealth?

What is progress?

Join me next Saturday to discuss what qualifies a candidate to run in a Digital-Dignity Democracy.

Drop a comment below.  I’d love to hear your take on GNH.

Let’s philosophize!