Chapter 10 Map and Sentence

Trevor Jones 

3/8/16

Per. 3

Sources: 

Human Geography: People, Places, and Culture: Chapter 9 - Urban Geography

Gross National Happiness in Bhutan: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/01/bhutan-wealth-happiness-counts 

North American Free Trade Agreement: http://www.internationaldemocracywatch.org/index.php/north-american-free-trade-agreement 

After WW2, the United States and Canada’s economies were very much developed, with strong traditions of liberal political and economic policies, however Mexico had neither. Mexico wanted to create independence from American hegemony and encourage domestic industrialization through state and corporatist policies, but this backfired in the 80’s which resulted in inflation, backward industries, and massive amounts of debt, so the United States, Canada, and Mexico agreed (reluctantly in some cases) to the formation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in order to facilitate regional cooperation and movement of goods. Then, the countries could freely trade across their borders, therefore the cooperation of the country’s large industries and governments allowed for the limitation of anxiety. 

This is a map of Southwestern Asia. The reason that I chose to draw this map is because it contains the country Bhutan. Bhutan is unique in its ways of measuring development because they use an index called Gross National Happiness (GNH), rather than Gross National Product (GNP), Gross National Income (GNI), or Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which every other country in the world uses to measure development. Less than 40 years ago, Bhutan opened its borders to migrants, which has gained the country a status as a retreat from the pressures of modern civilization, largely for its pursuit of the most elusive of concepts – national happiness. This concept that wellbeing should take preference over material growth has remained a global oddity, however in a world of collapsing financial systems, this buddhist based index is growing popularity all over the world, making world leaders consider ways that Bhutan's GNH model can be replicated across the globe.