“Lonely people have never been happy people. And globalization is creating a very lonely planet.” So says activist and author Vandana Shiva in “The Economics of Happiness.”

“The Economics of Happiness”  is an incisive documentary that links today’s global crises (climate change, terrorism, the financial crash) with personal malaise (rising levels of depression and the pervasive emptiness of consumer society).

The cure? Localization. A return to community, where people can forge connections with neighbors instead of advertising models, and buy food from a nearby farmer instead of the industrial agricultural machine. It is the economic and social bond among fellow citizens, and their very interdependence, insists economic analyst Helena Norberg-Hodge, that allows them to be truly happy.

Thank you to our community partners: The South Seattle Climate Action Network and The Mount Baker Community Club