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What's the Economy for, Anyway?

Bullfrog Films • 39m

Directed by John de Graaf and Hana Jindrova • Documentary • 2010 • 40 minutes

In this film produced by John de Graaf of AFFLUENZA> fame, ecological economist Dave Batker presents a humorous, edgy, factual, timely and highly-visual monologue about the American economy today, challenging the ways we measure economic success--especially the Gross Domestic Product--and offering an answer to the question: What's the Economy for, Anyway?

Using Gifford Pinchot's idea that the economy's purpose is 'the greatest good for the greatest number over the longest run,' Batker compares the performance of the U.S. economy with that of other industrial countries in terms of providing a high quality of life, fairness and ecological sustainability, concluding that when you do the numbers, we come out near the bottom in nearly every category.

Batker shines a humorous light on such economic buzzwords as 'productivity,' and 'consumer sovereignty,' while offering ideas for 'capitalism with a human face,' a new economic paradigm that meets the real needs of people and the planet.

Tags
american economy, anyway?, bullfrog films, business, capitalism, capitalism with a human face, consumer sovereignty, dave batker, doc, ecological economics, ecological sustainability, econjustice, economic theory, economics, environment, expository, fairness, financial crisis, gdp, gifford pinchot, greatest good, greatest number, gross domestic product, happiness, health, labor and economics, neoliberal economics, new paradigm, ovid, ovid_ca, productivity, quality of life, real needs, s_0037, s_0085, s_0447, s_0588, security, society's well-being, sustainability, time, title_tuvwxyz, title_w, what's the economy for, workable alternatives

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