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WILLIAM LONG / the Mouse That Roared: Bhutan's Buddhist Approach to Democracy and Development

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WILLIAM LONG / the Mouse That Roared: Bhutan's Buddhist Approach to Democracy and Development THE MOUSE THAT ROARED: BHUTAN’S BUDDHIST APPROACH TO DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT William Long Abstract: The small, remote country of Bhutan is the only democratic, mixed market country in the world that is rooted constitutionally and culturally in Buddhist principles. As such, it provides an authentic basis for theoretical and empirical comparison between two distinct models of democracy and development (Western and Buddhist) that differ on important, first-order principles. This article illuminates the differences in philosophical assumptions and social theory between the two models, and documents how, in real world terms, Bhutan organizes and operates a political and economic system consistent with its Buddhist worldview. It considers whether Bhutan's unique pursuit of "Gross National Happiness" rather than Gross National Product as its ordering principle for policy can withstand the forces of globalization and what insights Bhutan might have to share with the rest of us about dilemmas facing Western democracies and the need to pursue development in a more holistic and sustainable way. Introduction Today, most sovereign states can fairly be described as “democracies” because they possess elected political leadership, majoritarian rule with protection of minority viewpoints and some measure of commitment to individual rights and equality under law. In the economic realm, most democracies possess economies in which the marketplace is the chief arbiter of economic exchange and that are, in turn, integrated in varying degrees into wider regional and global markets. Virtually all these polities and economies have as their underlying “operating system” liberal principles and values. The term “liberal” in this context is used in its traditional or essential meaning: promoting individual rights and liberties; constraining the scope of government by law; protecting private interests, such as property; and minimizing governmental restrictions on the free movement of goods, ideas and people. For some states these philosophical commitments are indigenous and longstanding, and for others they were imported later, often through colonization. One decided exception to this model is the small remote country of Bhutan. Because of its Himalayan location, its centuries of closure to the outside world, and the good fortune of having avoided conquest or colonization by invading Tibetans, Mongols and Brits, when Bhutan emerged as a democratic state in the 21st century, it did so with its 1300-year-old belief and value system intact. The ideas of the European Enlightenment or later ideologies, such as Marxism or fascism, never penetrated Bhutan. Bhutan’s philosophical beliefs and mores are overwhelmingly Dr. WILLIAM LONG, Professor, the Global Studies Institute and the Department of Political Science at Georgia State University. Email: [email protected]. Journal of East-West Thought 70 WILLIAM LONG Buddhist, not Western and liberal in character (Mathou, 2008). Contemporary Bhutan is aware of Western ways and has recently incorporated many Western political and economic ideas into its constitution, laws and policies. Nonetheless, the foundation for its political, economic and cultural identity is unique: it is the only democratic, mixed market country in the world rooted constitutionally and culturally in Mahāyāna Buddhist principles and ethics. Does Bhutan’s exceptionality matter? I think it does because it provides an authentic basis for theoretical and empirical comparison between two distinct models of democracy and development. Since Aristotle, comparison has been a powerful method for understanding societies’ differences and similarities, appreciating both what is foreign and what is familiar. The comparative approach provides at the same time a realistic and relativistic view of one’s own political and economic system and valuable knowledge of foreign systems (Parel, 2003 at p. 12). Such a comparison raises the following questions: • How is the theory and practice of democracy and economic development different when founded on Buddhist principles rather than Western/Liberal/ “Enlightenment” principles? • What is Bhutan’s operational model of Buddhist democracy and development? • Can Bhutan’s unique system endure the forces of urbanization, modernization and globalization? And, • Can Bhutan’s model offer valuable insights to Western democracies in addressing contemporary political and economic challenges, such as inequality, political polarization and environmental sustainability? I. How a Buddhist Approach to Democracy and Development is “Different”: Distinctive Philosophical Foundations To begin to answer the first question, that is, “How is the theory and practice of democracy and economic development different when founded on Buddhist principles rather than Western/Liberal/ ‘Enlightenment’ principles,” the reader needs to appreciate the distinctive foundational principles of the two approaches. How they differ in their answers to the big philosophical questions: (1) how do things exist? (their basic ontology), (2) what is knowable? (their epistemology), and (3) what is our basic human nature? (their ethics). In the West, the longstanding and prevailing materialist/scientific/liberal social paradigm argues the following: • Existence: a Cartesian duality exists between observer and observed, between and non-physical phenomena, such as mind, are not causally relevant. • Knowledge: objective truth is knowable through third-person methods of science focused exclusively on the material world, what some call “foundationalism:” the rational, self-directed search for permanent and authoritative principles of human knowledge. In physical, natural and social Journal of East-West Thought THE MOUSE THAT ROARED 71 sciences, the goal is to uncover deterministic patterns of behavior. As such, scientific facts are necessarily separate from values. • Human Nature: governed principally by reason and rationality, our actions are predominantly self-interested, and human behavior reflects the rational pursuit of one’s preferences. As for the natural world, duality prevails here as well; humans are above and apart from the natural environment and, through reason and science, should assert their dominion and control over it. These are the common foundations from which modern liberal democracy and capitalism have grown. In Buddhism, the philosophical assumptions underlying social theory are significantly different: • Existence: subject and object are “non-dual” and all reality is interdependent and impermanent. This assertion is the opposite of the Cartesian separation of subject and object and material realism. Moreover, individual selves lack an essential and enduring nature and are reducible to other material and non- material elements. This doctrine of the “no-self” (anātman) is common to all schools of Buddhism. One can refer to selves in keeping with worldly conventions, but ultimately the self is a fiction. Further, under the type of Buddhism practiced in Bhutan, all phenomena, including the elements that make up the self, are ultimately “empty” (śūnya) of inherent, independent existence. Nothing exists as a fixed entity from its own side. Although things appear to our senses as permanent, things do not exist in the way that they appear. Instead, on examination, all phenomena—ourselves, others, and objects—are “dependent arising,” i.e., they come into existence dependent on other things: their parts, their causes, and the minds that perceive them. Failing to recognize the way things exist and grasping at them as enduring is the fundamental mistake (ignorance) that leads to suffering according to Buddhism. • Knowledge: no objective knowledge is independent of the mind of the perceiver. All phenomena are merely appearances to mind. In the Madhyamaka (Sanskrit for Middle Way) interpretation that predominates in Bhutan and Tibet, all phenomena are merely imputed by mind and have no existence from their own side. Objects, and the minds that perceive them, are mutually dependent. Things come into existence dependent on the interplay between sensory signals and the sense organs and mental powers of the perceiver. Reality then is interpretive, and the notion of fixed, objective reality is an impossibility. Given that everything ultimately is lacks or is empty of a fixed inherent existence, all other forms of knowledge are provisional or “conventional” truths. It is important to note, however, that our conventional notions of reality a form of truth in that they can help us function in the world and, when used correctly can lead individuals to a realization of the truth of emptiness, the source of liberation from suffering. Because they perform practical and soteriological functions, Buddhist Journal of East-West Thought 72 WILLIAM LONG epistemology has developed a sophisticated literature regarding what constitutes “reliable forms of knowledge,” (pramāṇas), which are generally the product of our direct perceptions or logically drawn inferences. • Behaviorally, all sentient beings possess the inherent quality to be a fully enlightened being by removing deluded views about the nature of reality and, therefore, are worthy of our respect, non-harm, and ideally kindness and compassion. This is the Mahāyāna doctrine of our “Buddha nature.” Social and economic environments, therefore, should establish the conditions for individuals to realize their essential, interdependent nature through ethical conduct, contemplation and meditation. Social policies should emphasize
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