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As much as I appreciate Bhutan's ideas around happiness and its style of sustainable development, I feel Bhutan being a tiny hilly country is what allows them t

As much as I appreciate Bhutan's ideas around happiness and its style of sustainable development, I feel Bhutan being a tiny hilly country is what allows them to work. Add to that the gift of Hydroelectric power, which alone contributes 1/4th of government revenue, and was responsible for 14% of its GDP[1]. Its population is less than a million, where as even tier-3 towns in India have a couple of million people living there. A large country, with a large population, has far fewer options other than supporting economic development at a scale. [1]: https://thewire.in/world/south-asia/bhutan-hydropower-electricity-energy-geopolitics https://thewire.in/world/south-asia/bhutan-hydropower-electr...

tfourb 11mo ago
Renewable energy is literally available everywhere and solar and wind are now cheaper than hydro in many places. „Economic development“ can mean many things and there is a scenario where it supports the concept of „well being“ rather than actively undermining it, as it is happening in many places currently.
- em-bee 11mo ago
  yes, but as the top comment suggest the problem in large countries is that economic development isn't as localized. one project that improves the lives of 1 million people in buthan means that india needs 1000 such projects to bring the same improvement to all its people. do less, and the effect is less noticeable.
- rjmunro 11mo ago
  > solar and wind are now cheaper than hydro in many places. It's not possible to run a country entirely on wind and solar, you need backup for when it isn't windy or sunny. It is possible to run a country entirely on Hydro. The lake on a hydro electric dam will last for a while - in some cases several months - between needing to be topped up by rainfall.
  - jantissler 11mo ago
    Batteries exist.
    - lenkite 11mo ago
      Batteries need to be manufactured or imported at expense.
    - archagon 11mo ago
      Heh, OP even described a battery in the form of a lake!
jiehong 11mo ago
I think size is also what prevents countries too. Not enough people and not enough GDP? Well, some projects might take more than the country’s available capital. Size isn’t everything: compare China to India. I wish them luck, and success, because why not!
seanmcdirmid 11mo ago
They also get a lot of support from India, including military protection, and primary trade/currency links as well as covering most of their diplomatic needs. It’s like how Lichtenstein relates to Switzerland.
- badmonster 11mo ago
  Interesting parallel. Does this reliance limit Bhutan's sovereignty in practice? What's the trade-off?
  - sg5421 11mo ago
    Bhutan sovereignty is guaranteed by the fact that China (Tibet) also shares a border with Bhutan. It's a neutral place between the two powers. Although its ties are much closer to India (geographically, the flattest part is on its southern border with India--the location where Gelephu Mindfulness City will be located).
    - tim333 11mo ago
      Bhutan is also quite fierce against attempts to take it over. Their main hobby seems to be archery.
- nephihaha 11mo ago
  Look what happened to Sikkim, when India annexed it. They have probably been reminded of that.
- mwnn 11mo ago
  > support from India, including military protection That protection is notional, and the expectation that China (their only other neighbour) is not really going to get aggressive about this peaceful tiny country, but then there’s Tibet as an example. So then why is it notional? If China were to get aggressive, we (India) will not be able to do jack about it because, hell, we couldn’t defend our own territorial claims and have been losing land to China, one outpost at a time. No, not only from the wars from decades ago, but also very recently — yeah, that means even after this omnipotent non-biological entity became our own version of the glorious leader.

tfourb 11mo ago

Renewable energy is literally available everywhere and solar and wind are now cheaper than hydro in many places. „Economic development“ can mean many things and there is a scenario where it supports the concept of „well being“ rather than actively undermining it, as it is happening in many places currently.

em-bee 11mo ago
yes, but as the top comment suggest the problem in large countries is that economic development isn't as localized. one project that improves the lives of 1 million people in buthan means that india needs 1000 such projects to bring the same improvement to all its people. do less, and the effect is less noticeable.
rjmunro 11mo ago
> solar and wind are now cheaper than hydro in many places. It's not possible to run a country entirely on wind and solar, you need backup for when it isn't windy or sunny. It is possible to run a country entirely on Hydro. The lake on a hydro electric dam will last for a while - in some cases several months - between needing to be topped up by rainfall.
- jantissler 11mo ago
  Batteries exist.
  - lenkite 11mo ago
    Batteries need to be manufactured or imported at expense.
  - archagon 11mo ago
    Heh, OP even described a battery in the form of a lake!

jiehong 11mo ago

I think size is also what prevents countries too. Not enough people and not enough GDP? Well, some projects might take more than the country’s available capital. Size isn’t everything: compare China to India. I wish them luck, and success, because why not!

seanmcdirmid 11mo ago

They also get a lot of support from India, including military protection, and primary trade/currency links as well as covering most of their diplomatic needs. It’s like how Lichtenstein relates to Switzerland.

badmonster 11mo ago
Interesting parallel. Does this reliance limit Bhutan's sovereignty in practice? What's the trade-off?
- sg5421 11mo ago
  Bhutan sovereignty is guaranteed by the fact that China (Tibet) also shares a border with Bhutan. It's a neutral place between the two powers. Although its ties are much closer to India (geographically, the flattest part is on its southern border with India--the location where Gelephu Mindfulness City will be located).
  - tim333 11mo ago
    Bhutan is also quite fierce against attempts to take it over. Their main hobby seems to be archery.
nephihaha 11mo ago
Look what happened to Sikkim, when India annexed it. They have probably been reminded of that.
mwnn 11mo ago
> support from India, including military protection That protection is notional, and the expectation that China (their only other neighbour) is not really going to get aggressive about this peaceful tiny country, but then there’s Tibet as an example. So then why is it notional? If China were to get aggressive, we (India) will not be able to do jack about it because, hell, we couldn’t defend our own territorial claims and have been losing land to China, one outpost at a time. No, not only from the wars from decades ago, but also very recently — yeah, that means even after this omnipotent non-biological entity became our own version of the glorious leader.