The Economics of Happiness - What Would Gerry Harvey & Solomon Lew Think?

It's so interesting that at a time when Australians and the big retailers are consumed with the debate about whether the gst should be imposed on imported goods under the $1000 threshold, that a movie is being released called "The Economics of Happiness".

Ah, that sounds more like it! Might see if we can get a screening in Australia!

It seems very tongue in cheek that the big retailers are crying poor about the possibility of job losses if Australians are allowed to cut out the middleman and buy from overseas, when it was the Australian retailers who shipped practically all of Australia’s manufacturing jobs offshore years ago.

But this is just a superficial jab at the debate, because it actually calls into question a lot more than cheap jeans and jewellery…it calls into question what Australians are really all about.

Do we define ourselves as consumers…or as citizens? Do the things we buy ourselves bring true meaning to our (and other peoples’) lives, or just dilute our bank accounts, wellbeing and the earth’s resources? How does buying from a faceless corporation and supply chain stack up against sharing with a neighbour? What do we really need to live a good life? And how does what we buy today affect other communities around the world (human, plant and animal) and generations to come?

From the synopsis from the film’s website comes this:

The Economics of Happiness describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, an unholy alliance of governments and big business continues to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, people all over the world 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.

The film shows how globalization breeds cultural self-rejection, competition and divisiveness; how it structurally promotes the growth of slums and urban sprawl; how it is decimating democracy. We learn about the obscene waste that results from trade for the sake of trade: apples sent from the UK to South Africa to be washed and waxed, then shipped back to British supermarkets; tuna caught off the coast of America, flown to Japan to be processed, then flown back to the US. We hear about the suicides of Indian farmers; about the demise of land-based cultures in every corner of the world.

The second half of The Economics of Happiness provides not only inspiration, but practical solutions. Arguing that economic localization is a strategic solution multiplier that can solve our most serious problems, the film spells out the policy changes needed to enable local businesses to survive and prosper. We are introduced to community initiatives that are moving the localization agenda forward, including urban gardens in Detroit, Michigan and the Transition Town movement in Totnes, UK. We see the benefits of an expanding local food movement that is restoring biological diversity, communities and local economies worldwide. And we are introduced to Via Campesina, the largest social movement in the world, with more than 400 million members.

We hear from a chorus of voices from six continents, including Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Samdhong Rinpoche, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Michael Shuman, Zac Goldsmith and Keibo Oiwa. 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 challenges us to restore our faith in humanity, challenges us to believe that it is possible to build a better world.

Sounds good to me and here’s hoping we can get an Australian screening in the next few months. But for now I’ve got to run and get the chickens in before they lose their 10% to the fox!
 

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