the "Gross National Happiness" thing ain't without some controversy. Critics assert that it often boils down to the political elite of Bhutan decreeing a life of Buddhist Ascetism for the masses.

Sounds more like an aggressive version of American slow-growth initiatives, not mandatory asceticism.

it's far far far more reaching than simple slow-growth / zoning initiatives. For ex - a national dress code -

They, like virtually everyone in Bhutan, adhere to a national dress code, making it difficult to distinguish between prince and pauper. Bhutan's austere form of Buddhism is also a constant reminder to all about the perils of power.

Diff levels of citizenship based on adherence -

There are seven ranks of Bhutanese citizenship and residency status, he says, which can be changed based on behavior. If a Bhutanese marries a foreigner, for example, his or her rating drops. And those without a Nonobjection Card can't get passports or find civil service jobs. These nationalistic policies sometimes even work against the Bhutanese, if they happen to be of Nepali origin. "If your uncle's sister's son is in a Nepali refugee camp," Reno says, "you may find you have some difficulties."

...Although Drolma was born in Bhutan, she's not a citizen; her identity card labels her Class 6, a nonnational resident. But she hates Nepal, and there's no work in India, so she'll stay in Bhutan until her status is discovered and she's kicked out. "Nepalese living here have no human rights," she says, shrugging. "Gross National Happiness? I don't think so."

A level 6?!?!?! How, uh, bureaucratically efficient.

ethnic cleansing of the non buddhist ascetics -

With one sixth of the population in exile, the tiny kingdom of Bhutan has the dubious distinction of being one of the world's highest per capita generator of refugees. The roots of the problem lie in the government's attempts to alter the kingdom's demography in favour of the ruling ethnic group.

The point is that when you make an inherently ambiguous measure like "happiness" a national priority, it's impossible to not interpret that in arbitrary ways that impose one person's (the national elite's) ideas of what that means upon everyone else.... How much you wanna bet, for ex., that crown prince has more than a few Western suits, magazines, and DVD's squirreled away? It's just too hard to keep this from devolving into Animal Farm.