The Economics of Happiness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYEvFRQchyw&feature=player_embedded

brianpatrickemerson | Oct 21, 2010

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

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.

www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/

Become a facebook fan of The Economics of Happiness: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/p...

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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
Tags:

* The Economics of Happiness
* localization
* local food
* movie
* new economy
* globalization
* Vandana Shiva
* David Korten
* Bill McKibben
* Michael Shuman
* localisation
* Zac Goldsmith
* film
* Helena Norberg-Hodge
* documentary