The View of The Day on 2 January 2010 - 文明的軌跡

When I was reviewing my Views of The Day, I found a short writing on happiness, civilised country and civilisation. I think it is worth being recorded on this blog as this writing is a typical one that casts a cold eye on the world.

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Lord Clark mentioned in his documentary series Civilisation that he did not know what civilisation was but he would recognise it when seeing it. Chip Tao (陶傑) appears to know a thing or two on this. He spotted only 2 civilised countries in Asia - Bhutan and Japan. Civilisation cannot be defined but can only be experienced. Mr. Tao happened to talk about the happiness of one of these two only civilised countries in Asia.

I am, to a certain extent, more agreeable to the Bhutanese happiness than some other happiness index that, for example, compares Japan with the Philippines. To me, Filipinos' apparent happiness looks more like mental problems.

As I believe dire poverty and happiness are mutually exclusive, so unless you're truly in nirvana, certain amount of material well being (optimal but not excessive), for example, a shelter, clean water and food, is elemental to one' mental well being. The latter is what happiness is built on.

But civilisation naturally implies far more than a few good ideas (Washington, Jefferson and Adams talked about the pursuit of happiness but the United States say more than of happiness). So I totally agree that Japan is a civilisation (seminal, resilient, unique, influential, powerful and capable of generating significant philosophers, writers, politicians and scientists). Bhutan is yet to demonstrate most of these attributes.

So Bhutan is good and civilised. She is not yet a civilisation.

新世代良師

2010年01月02日

今天的亞洲，只有兩個文明國家，一個是日本──這一點，大家早知道了──另一個，正在得到國際社會的尊敬，就是喜馬拉雅山麓的小國不丹。

不丹國王首先提出「快樂指數」這個新觀念。國王認為：國家的國民生產總值（ GDP），絕不代表國民的快樂總值（ Gross National Happiness）。

憑此一高論，不丹全國國民，都應該分攤今年的諾貝爾和平獎。因為不丹國王的先進思想，開始在西方發酵，英國保守黨魁金馬倫受到啟迪，提出以「國民幸福總值」（ Gross National Wellbeing），簡稱 GNW，來代替日漸過時的 GDP。

美國最新調查；金融海嘯一年來，美國人比以前更開心了，美國經濟在二○○一年和一九九二年都衰退過，一九七三年石油危機、國民都心情抑鬱，只是這一次反常，房產變了銀主盤，信用卡沒收，國民反而心情好起來。

為什麼呢？喜歡模仿西方、「外國有先例」的特區高官和高等華人知識份子們，小心聽了：因為「西方」出了一個社會心理學的新名堂：叫做「慾望通脹之終結」（ End of Expectations Inflation）。

什麼叫「慾脹」呢？就是隨着消費增長帶來的通脹，人的消費慾，必然領先在儲蓄之先。也就是說，經濟好景時，人的慾脹隨着通脹，超越了本身的消費力。

金 融海嘯爆發了，銀行爆煲，「消費者」本來無休止的慾望也跟着爆了煲。雙爆煲之下，就像一個人死了，靈魂脫離了情慾的軀殼，在「中陰身」的階段，最初悲憤而 哀傷，但後來反而寧靜而祥和，覺得無所謂死，也無所謂生。不錯，經濟還會復甦的，但經濟再復甦，就像投胎輪迴。這時閣下開始享受這等飄逸自由、無重無晦的 澄空之感，反倒不想輪迴了，佛家說，這種境界，就是湼槃。

不丹國民的一生，就生活在入世的湼槃之中。入世而湼槃，好像很矛盾，但不丹國民沒有信用 卡，不必做豪宅的房奴，他們以織綿為業，一方石室，一座陽台，仰頭就見到喜馬拉雅山皚藍的靈空，永遠不必為剛做了什麼會計師律師而「住不上港島半山」而發 愁投訴，不丹遠離愚昧，前有達賴喇嘛學說，後有不丹理論，現在成為「西方」的良師。

所謂 GNW，不需要一大堆「東西方文化」加哈佛 MBA的理論，粵語有一句現成話：「財散人安樂」。

美國人終於感受到財散的安樂了。上一代的廣東人，智慧不下於不丹國王。