The Economics of Happiness
A project of the International Society for Ecology and Culture
EVENT: Saturday, September 8 at 7:00pm
‘Going local’ is a powerful strategy to repair our fractured world—our ecosystems, our societies and our selves
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
Samdhong Rinpoche, the Prime Minister of Tibet's government in exile,
Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten and Zac Goldsmith. 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.
Free event followed by community discussion. (Donations always welcome.)
VENUE: Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center
13325 Beach Avenue, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
310-822-9642
