more importantly, to teach human values such as integrity, courage, hope, truth, righteousness, enthusiasm, love, peace, respect for all beings, non-violence, and the desire to serve others unconditionally. Such education is absolutely necessary in order to increase the positive values in the Happiness Equation and to reduce all the negative elements of happiness.
I believe that the quality of life of a nation in truth depends on its National Index of Happiness, or NIH. I also believe that this is a more realistic way of comparing the quality of life of different nations than by comparing their GDP’s, or how much energy or material resources they use per person per year.
As you know, it is now common to consider a nation’s GDP as the measure of its progress, standard of living, and prosperity. This is hugely flawed. For example, if in one country the crime rate is higher than in other countries, it may be that all the expenditures in manufacturing and handling of guns, protection against crime, capturing and convicting of criminals, and paying for their incarcerations add up and increase the GDP in that nation. For another country, whose crime rates are lower, with every other economic activity being equal to those of the first country, this country may show a lower GDP, and may be considered less developed. The same thing is true about food and nutrition. If the people of one society are used to consuming more processed food, this consumption may contribute to a higher GDP when compared to another society that consumes more natural foods (assuming that everything else is the same). The presence of many chemicals used during the food processing and the absence of fiber and many other elements found in natural foods contributes to many illnesses. All the costs of food processing and health care also contribute to a higher value of GDP.
Science alone is not capable of solving all the problems that humankind is facing today.
It is only through the ethical use of scientific knowledge that we will be able to progress in science and technology, to eradicate human and environmental miseries throughout the world, and to secure true and sustainable happiness for people.
Education in human values should be emphasized along with conventional education. It is also suggested that an international center be established, with branches in each country, to do research on how human values can be best cultivated in people. This center for Research In Cultivation of Human values (or center for RICH values) can operate under the United Nations or through bilateral or multilateral agreements among nations.