The Economics of Happiness

Going local is a powerful strategy to repair our fractured world—our ecosystems, our societies and our selves

Purchase the DVD, find a screening and get involved at our website: www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org
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Film Synopsis -

Economic globalization has led to a massive expansion in the scale and power of big business and banking. It has also worsened nearly every problem we face: fundamentalism and ethnic conflict; climate chaos and species extinction; financial instability and unemployment. There are personal costs too. For the majority of people on the planet life is becoming increasingly stressful. We have less time for friends and family and we face mounting pressures at work.

The Economics of Happiness describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation of trade and finance—and, far from the old institutions of power, they're starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm -- an economics of localization.

We hear from a chorus of voices from six continents including Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Michael Shuman, Juliet Schor, Zac Goldsmith and Samdhong Rinpoche - the Prime Minister of Tibet's government in exile. They tell us that climate change and peak oil give us little choice: we need to localize, to bring the economy home. The good news is that as we move in this direction we will begin not only to heal the earth but also to restore our own sense of well-being. The Economics of Happiness restores our faith in humanity and challenges us to believe that it is possible to build a better world.

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Selected Endorsements -

"Helena Norberg-Hodge delivers a powerful message about globalization: It is the small, local economies around the world that are preserving traditions, cultures, and communities, and ultimately safeguarding our happiness." (Alice Waters, chef, author, and the proprietor of Chez Panisse)

"It is good news indeed to find so persuasive an explanation of our ailing world as 'The Economics of Happiness.' This film connects the dots between climate chaos, economic meltdown, and our own personal suffering--stress, loneliness, and depression. It presents the localization movement as a systemic alternative to corporate globalization, as well as a strategy that brings community and meaning to our lives." (Joanna Macy, author World as Lover, World as Self)

"'The Economics of Happiness' offers a unique global perspective on a movement that is often reduced as being too small. Not so. The film tells the story of a grassroots movement for localization that is bubbling up from the cracks of a faltering global economy, in every corner of the world. These are the real 'green shoots' to be hopeful about." (Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director, The Oakland Institute)

"I think this is the best, most holistic film I have seen on the subject." (Jacob Bomann-Larsen, Coordinator of Nordic New Economy Network)

"...it is a great honor for me to endorse such an historic work." (Samdhong Rinpoche, Prime Minister of Tibet's government in exile)

"A must-see film for the future of the planet." (Zac Goldsmith, Member of UK Parliament)

Category:

Film & Animation

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• happiness

[lsophial]

I hope many of us can fully understand that we are a fault in here, we are not helping our farmers, and our local economy by purchasing imported items. It is all up to US Not the government, not the super markets, big business Tycoons, but us. If we start to buy locally we will be helping our economy our environment and our packets too. After all imported goods are not as fresh as the one that has just being produced a few hours ago and are more likely to have less or free of preservatives.

[ChuffChuffWoo]

Current consumer lifestyle is not there to give us happiness, but to keep it just out of reach, so we're always spending and consuming in a futile effort to reach that little bit further - always being allowed to edge that little bit closer, but never actually being allowed to get there.

[dmpeters]

THIS HAS BEEN CHEWED ON AND WILL BE TO THE END OF THIS EARTH AND THIS DREAM CALLED REALITY.....SORRY BUT EVERYTHING BUT ETERNITY ITSELF BECOME EXTINCT THE ??? IS HAVE YOU BEEN BREATHING FULLY AND JOYFULLY THRU ...TO THE VERY LAST MOMENT YOU WILL HAVE????

[yandhi216]

we are facing a monumental environmental crisis, watch it now on your iphone,,,, get the realtime human extinction app now..!!!

[mpaone]

@PrometheanRunGood Amen. We need to develop better sources of energy that can be used for transportation and such. This is the futurist in me. I agree that a lot of the 'go local' movement ignores the arc of human time. Our world approaches more and more complexity. I think we need to figure out ways to meet this complexity responsibly. Honestly, I want to see us able to teleport people to different corners of the globe in 200 years.

[PrometheanRunGood]

We cannot deglobalize back to a world of local communities, to wish so is foolish and impractical to the point of social irrelevance. Instead of painting a Utopian vision of the ancient past, we would do much better to control the nature of the way world is interconnected.

All in all, inspiring but ineffective.

[PrometheanRunGood]

Just saw the film...

While I am sympathetic to many of the views of about consumerism and the sustainability of the first world lifestyle, the author of the video draws on a overly romantic vision of local economies in the third world as seen through the lens of western `New Age` spiritualism.

[Jodysabc]

I watched the entire documentry last week.

Well worth watching.

[psikeyhackr]

The only thing more ridiculous than listening to a politician talking about economics is listening to economists talking about economics.

How much have Americans lost on the depreciation of automobiles since the Moon landing? When do economists compute that? Economists don't talk about planned obsolescence. The Laws of Physics do not change style and have not since 1969.

You have to buy a new car to be IN STYLE!

Google "economic wargames"

[CoN0R115]

They can be as greedy as they want. Their plans will be run straight into the ground when "Peak Oil" comes around. Without oil how will they fuel anything at all? You can't produce diesel, petrol/gasoline, kerosine, ship fuel or anything else without crude oil which is what they're creating wars for. You can't make bitumen either which is used to make roads... there goes transportation and infrastructure! Globalistion will eventually end. Things will become localized. Don't worry.

[etzel33]

Internalize the costs involved and the market will localize naturally. Shifting taxes away from income and trade toward land, severance and pollution taxes would internalize market costs. Severance taxes especially.

[CommentsSurvey]

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