#201 / The Economics Of Happiness

As you can see, there is a book titled The Economics of Happiness. Click the link to order it. There is also a movie with that very same title.

Mark Anielski, who wrote the book, says that his goal (or at least one of them) "is to introduce the concept of Genuine Wealth: a new and compelling model for managing our personal, household, business and community well-being in accordance with the values that define our quality of life.

"Genuine Wealth is a practical system which measures and manages for sustainability the total capital assets of a community or organization. Synthesizing emerging concepts like natural capital and social capital, Genuine Wealth creates a more comprehensive accounting system where human, social, natural, built and financial capital are all integrated into the balance sheet. This vision of a living, sustainable economy is founded on the mutually reinforcing and integrated principles of efficiency, equity and reciprocity and was inspired by the cooperative economy of Emilia Romagna, a flourishing and vibrant region of Italy."

The movie, featuring a cast of wise persons from six continents, suggests that an economy that is "local," above all, has the best chance "to repair our fractured world - our ecosystems, our societies and ourselves."

I haven't read the book. I haven't seen the movie. I do agree, though, that "genuine wealth" is not the same thing as making lots of money, and that "going local" is likely to be far better for the world, and better for us, than mobilizing the economic power of commerce on a global basis.

It could be (again, I haven't read the book or seen the movie), that the insights contained in the book and movie could be expressed like this:

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? - Matthew 16:26, King James Bible