The Sustainability of Happiness
　　The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development/(Rio+20)/was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.// Leaders from 192 states/met to plan the future.// The focus was on creating a sustainable environment/and leading the world out of poverty.//
　　One of the participants was José “Pepe” Mujica,/President of Uruguay.// Mujica,/known as “the world’s poorest president”/because of his simple lifestyle,/had a message/that surprised many of the participants:/Don’t forget human happiness.//

　　We’ve been talking all afternoon/about sustainable development,/about how to get the masses out of poverty.// But what are we thinking?// Do we want to follow the model of development and consumption/of the rich countries?// I ask you now:/What would happen to this planet/if Indians had the same proportion of cars/per household/as Germans?// How much oxygen/would we have left to breathe?//
　　Does our planet have enough resources/so that seven or eight billion people can have the same level of consumption and waste/that we have today in rich countries?// This level of consumption/is harming our planet.//
　　Will that ever be possible?//
　　We must start a different type of discussion.// We are the ones/who have created this civilization/in which the market economy and competition/have produced great material progress.// The market economy has given us globalization,/which means being aware of the whole planet.//
　　But are we in control of globalization/or is globalization in control of us?// We talk about “being all together.”// How is that possible/in an economy based on ruthless competition?// How far does our “being all together” go?//


　　I am not questioning/the importance of this summit meeting.// On the contrary,/we are facing a huge challenge.// But it is not environmental.// It is a political challenge.//
　　Today,/we are no longer in control/of the forces we created.// Rather,/these forces are controlling us.// We did not come onto this planet/simply to develop it.// We came onto this planet/to be happy.// Life is short/and it slips away from us.// Nothing we own/is worth as much as life.// But our lives are slipping through our fingers/as we work harder and longer/just to be able to consume more.//
　　We live in a consumer society.// Consumption drives everything.// If consumption slows,/the economy slows,/and if the economy slows,/we fall into stagnation.// We know/that too much consumption is harming our planet.// Nevertheless,/we need to keep consuming.// We make things that have a short life/in order to sell more.// So/we make light bulbs/that do not last longer than 1,000 hours,/even though we can make light bulbs/that last 100,000 hours!// The long-lasting bulbs are not manufactured/because everyone has to work/to sustain this “use-and-throw-away” society.//


　　We are trapped in a vicious cycle.// These are political problems.// It is time/to start fighting for a different culture.//
　　I’m not talking about returning/to the days of the cave dweller,/or building a “monument to backwardness.”// But we cannot continue like this,/indefinitely,/being ruled by the market.// On the contrary,/we have to rule over the market.//
　　This is why,/in my humble way of thinking,/the problem we are facing is political.// The old thinkers/… Epicurus,/Seneca,/and even the Aymara put it this way,/“A poor person/is not someone who doesn’t have much/but someone who always needs more,/and more and more.”// This is a cultural characteristic.//


　　So/I salute the efforts and agreements/being made at this conference.// And as a president/I will follow them.// I know some things I’m saying/are not easy to digest.// But we must change our way of thinking/that the water crisis and the destruction of the environment/are the main issues.// In fact,/the main issue is the model of civilization/that we have created.//
　　We must completely revise/our way of life.//
　　I live in a small country/with lots of natural resources.// Almost 90 percent of the land is fertile.// There are only a few more than three million people,/but there are 13 million cows/—some of the best in the world—/and eight to ten million excellent sheep.// We export food,/dairy products,/and meat.//
　　My fellow workers/fought hard for the eight-hour workday.// Now they are working/to make that six hours.// That’s progress.// However,/the person who works six hours,/now gets two jobs/and works longer than before.// Why?// Because he needs to make more money/to pay for the motorcycle,/the car,/for more and more and more.// The payments pile up,/and before you know it,/he is a rheumatic old man,/like me,/and his life is already over.//
　　Is this our fate/as human beings?//
　　What I am saying now is very basic:/development cannot be the enemy of happiness.// It has to work/to increase human happiness,/to promote love of our Earth,/human relationships,/caring for children,/having friends,/meeting our basic needs.//
　　Happiness is the most precious treasure we have.// Happiness!// When we fight for the environment,/we must remember/that the essential element of the environment/is human happiness.//