Am I really happy and satisfied? Where is my life going?
Have you ever asked these questions? Of course you have, for these are universal themes we all ponder from time to time.
Today, we face many obstacles in leading a satisfying life, but I dream that in 2050 the world will be a much better place to live. Conflict and suffering will have disappeared and instead, people will be friendly, supportive, and caring toward each other.
Sadly, unsustainable growth, both in human numbers – exceeding 8.2 billion and increasing – and our voracious demand for consumer goods of every stripe, is leading to global warming, plastics gyrating around the Pacific Ocean, smog hanging over major cities, worldwide pandemics, the loss of species, a shortage of resources, and conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere. The litany goes on and on. Of course, this damaging growth is aided and abetted by technology, especially its incredibly rapid, largely-uncontrolled increase in complexity.
There is another factor, an immense one. That is, that humans have an evil streak; we are marred by greed. Many of us are kind and thoughtful, but those who crave power, financial reward, and sex usually wind up ruling governments and corporations. This human weakness is seldom discussed, nor are ways to correct it.
Bhutanese Government departments needed to calculate the impact their policies would have on the Gross National Happiness index.
While some recognize that defeating this evil is necessary to making the world a safe haven, sadly, decision-making usually resides with those who abuse power. The bad actors in charge believe that if fellow human beings and the environment get harmed, that’s simply too bad, just a price to be paid.
Glimmers of hope, however, have appeared like tiny stars in a dark celestial sky. In the early 1970s, the King of Bhutan, after some soul searching, concluded that a major objective in life is to be happy. Wanting to improve the happiness of the people in his poor, rural kingdom, he replaced the Gross Domestic Product that measures economic throughput with “Gross National Happiness” as the main indicator to drive government policies.
This initiative recognized that quality of life depends on far more than material wealth and consumerism, and gave equal importance to non-economic aspects of wellbeing. Government departments needed to calculate the impact their policies would have on the Gross National Happiness index. The King drew inspiration from Bhutan’s long-standing tradition of compassion and non-violence toward all living beings, rooted in its 1,200-year Buddhist heritage.
International support followed. In 2011, The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution titled Happiness: Towards a Holistic Approach to Development, calling happiness a “fundamental human goal” and urging member nations to follow Bhutan’s example.
For one hour per week, students discuss emotions, personal struggles, and group dynamics. These classes help students develop emotional intelligence, active listening, and conflict resolution skills.
Unfortunately, in spite of being so forward thinking, the Gross National Happiness model never really gained traction – as of 2025, it is still only in use in Bhutan.
But another bright ray of hope comes from Denmark, which in recent years has ranked as one of the happiest nations in the world. Maybe the way they raise their children is the reason? In 1993, Denmark made Empathy a mandatory subject for all students aged six to sixteen. For one hour per week, students discuss emotions, personal struggles, and group dynamics. These classes help students develop emotional intelligence, active listening, and conflict resolution skills.
The Danes have a country that is often chosen as one of the world’s best places to live, and the teaching of empathy appears to be one of the reasons. The teachers are very supportive of the courses, which offer numerous benefits from improved social skills and stronger relationships to better conflict resolution, reduced bullying, and even improved academic performance.
Several other nations have followed suit and started teaching students how to become better people, with Japan and the Scandinavian countries leading the way. In 2024, France introduced empathy classes in all schools, aiming to address issues like bullying and isolation, and inviting students to recognize their own positive qualities.
In Canada, a human improvement course, the Roots of Empathy program, began in 2000 and is delivered in some schools three times a month. The program runs throughout the school year, targeting elementary school students from kindergarten to Grade 8. Teachers are finding that students enrolled in the course are less aggressive and more likely to say their peers exhibit good social behaviour.
The tiny country of Estonia, in northern Europe just south of Finland, is trying a radical new approach to human well-being. The Hakkab Looma (“Let’s Start Creating”) project, which began in March 2025, is a nationwide initiative to gather and share dreams about what the country could be like in 2050. The project aims to collectively imagine a future Estonia that is positive and sustainable by engaging a large number of people, including members of the large Estonian diaspora. Dreams will be collected, made publicly available online, and used by creative artists and cultural figures to inspire new works. Having envisaged a happy, holistic life lifestyle, the goal then will be to bring it to fruition.
Transforming humans into caring, peaceful beings is a huge change, and we need to vigorously pursue these glimmers of hope. We need to think hard about the kind of future we want, and take concrete steps to get there. We must strive to improve ourselves, and to learn that greed, growth, and material possessions do not bring happiness.
My dream is that the efforts made by Bhutan, Denmark, and Estonia will become much more popular, eventually becoming accepted by virtually everyone, and will finally transform our reality.
A former environmental scientist and adjunct professor, Hans Tammemagi has penned ten books and hundreds of articles.
