Tom Barefoot
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Posts by Tom Barefoot
Who cheats more – bankers or politicians?
Jul 26th
Research shows…. Here is a 2 minute video with the answer from Dan Airely’s blog. Dan is the Predictably Irrational guy.
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSTizvMHfGY
Go to his website here for more info on his research: http://danariely.com/2010/07/25/who-cheats-more/
Sex, Lies and Global Economics
Jul 24th
Who’s Counting?
Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics
Marilyn Waring demystifies global economics from a feminist perspective. With persistence and wit she has succeeded in drawing attention to the fact that GDP has no negative side to its accounts–such as damage to the environment–and completely ignores the unpaid work of women. “Why is the market economy all that counts?” Ms. Waring asks.
Link to 94 minute video online http://www.nfb.ca/film/whos_counting/
link to leader guide PDF http://gnhusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/whoguide.pdf
Jeremy Rifkin-Empathic Civilization
Jul 21st
Jeremy Rifkin, on the second link below specifically speaks about how the Science of Hedonics is crucial to create a sustainable society.
Video Links
http://fora.tv/2010/05/06/Jeremy_Rifkin_The_Empathic_Civilization_Animated
Why we are so passionate
Jul 14th
This morning on NPR’s Morning Edition I heard a report that the June numbers for consumer spending were low from a decline in spending on automobiles and gasoline. The reporter’s tone of voice indicated concern about this and implied that it was bad. The myth of “bigger is better” and growth is what we want are well entrenched in our discourse and our ideas of how the world should be. We need to educate the media, the legislatures, the policy people, the farmers, citizens and especially youth to see things through another lens. Seen from a perspective of sustainability and a Happy Planet, decrease in spending on cars and gasoline are a good thing, the way of the future. So we have our work cut out for us. I took a vow to talk to 10 friends about this problem of changing to a well-being way of looking at the world instead of just “bigger is better”. Join me?
New Conference Videos
Jul 14th
We have now posted 3 new videos from Day 3 of the GNHUSA 2010 conference including leading environmentalist Bill McKibben’s Keynote on “Building a Movement”, the Morning Panel on “How can Vermont Measure Success and Progress” and NY Times Best Seller, Vicki Robin’s Plenary Session on “Enough”.
Comments from Hazel Henderson
Jun 28th
Comments on John de Graaf’s post on the Gross National Happiness Conference by Hazel Henderson and others from the CSR Blog. Deep comments on the long-running effort to move away from GDP and why it hasn’t happened despite decades of work to gain adoption for more comprehensive progress measures. Read the comments.
Pursuing Happiness in Hard Times
Jun 17th
SPROUT: Pursuing Happiness in Hard Times
Carl Etnier
Relocalizing Vermont Productions
Distributed by Pacifica
A report from the GNHUSA 2010 Conference in Burlington, Vermont with clips from former Harvard President Derek Bok and Fed Chair Ben Bernanke added.
Beyond GDP
Jun 14th
Harvard Business Review – The Conversation
8:49 AM Monday June 14, 2010
by Lisa Napoli |
Quality of life researcher Talita Greyline, an economist at the University of Johannesberg, was simultaneously hopeful and skeptical when she traveled from South Africa to Burlington, Vermont, for the Gross National Happiness USA conference. Being from a place with unemployment of 45% and, as she said, “not that much happiness,” she was eager to learn how she might help change the lives of people in her country. But, she said, “From an economist’s point of view, it’s very funny, because happiness is not objectively measurable.”
There’s a new movement around the world among social scientists, economists and community leaders to measure quality of life — and to factor it into the metrics used to gauge the health of the economy. Disenchantment with the Gross Domestic Product, a widely used figure that calculates all the goods and services an economy produces, is fueling the shift. Its detractors say GDP paints an incomplete picture. Read whole article.
Progressive Politics of Happiness
Jun 14th
Published on Thursday, June 10, 2010 by CommonDreams.org
by John de Graaf
The following is adapted from a speech John de Graaf delivered to the annual gala of the Northwest Progressive Institute on Mercer Island, Washington, June 9, 2010.
You may have noticed that the subject of happiness is hot right now. In the past year and a half, more than 27,000 books and articles have been written on the subject. But the interest in happiness is not entirely new.
Once upon a time, in a far-off land of green valleys and soaring mountains, a boy of 16 was crowned King—and began in a quiet way to change the world. The year was 1972—not so long ago. The faraway land was a tiny Himalayan Kingdom called Bhutan, thought of by many as the model for Shangri-La. And the 16-year-old king was Jigme Wangchuck, who, when asked what he would do to increase Bhutan’s Gross National Product, replied that, as far as he was concerned, “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.” And Gross National Happiness would be the goal of his reign.
Now if any leader, young or old, had made those remarks here in the United States, he or she would have received a few polite chuckles perhaps, then a collective yawn, and an exhortation to get real and get back to making money. But the people of Bhutan take their kings very seriously, and slowly over the next 38 years, they began to put a little meat on the concept of Gross National Happiness. They wanted to figure out how to measure it, how to enhance it through government and social policies, and how to educate themselves about the behaviors that lead to greater joy. So they invited leading “happiness scientists” to their once isolated land—psychologists and economists and ecologists and philosophers and sociologists and experts in health and in the creation of scientific surveys.
Read the whole post and extensive comments at CommonDreams.org.
GNHUSA Conference a Success!
Jun 6th
The GNHUSA Conference, Changing What we Measure from Wealth to Well-Being was a success – introducing GNH ideas to leaders from many Vermont organizations. Guests from around Vermont, the US, Canada and from countries including Brazil, South Africa, Denmark, Bangladesh, Singapore and Bhutan. Speakers including Bill McKibben, Susan Andrews, Karma Tshiteem, Vicki Robin, John deGraaf, Ron Colman, Dot Maver, Con Hogan, Gwen Hallsmith, Bob Costanza, and many others provided a well-rounded description of work on comprehensive well-being indicators and how they can help us plan a happy and sustainable future. Participants listened and interacted with speakers to help plan how we can integrate these ideas into Vermont. Sixty-five participants came to the GNH Ambassador training very enthusiastic to learn how to present and discuss GNH ideas with the public and leaders in Vermont.
The Conference and the GNH Ambassador Training mark the launch for GNHUSA to spead GNH ideas around the country. There were representatives of groups in Seattle, Santa Cruz, Jackson Hole and other cities around the US and Canada who are keen to explore GNH ideas in their local environments. GNH Events in Seattle took place on Sunday, June 6th and Monday, June 7th.
