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UG#601 - The Psychopathology of Money (Nick Leeson, The Economics of Happiness)

Robin Upton | 27.12.2012 00:28 | Analysis | History | Sheffield | World

We continue examining money with radio adaptations of 2 films. In our first hour, Adam Curtis' 25 Million Pounds narrates the rise and fall of financial fraudster, Nick Leeson. In our second hour, The Economics of Happiness which recommends relocalization as the urgent solution to economic globalization.

We start this show with some reflections on the connection between psychopathy, the modern money system and hierarchical multinationals which are conspiring to usurp decision making from governments. We then present a radio adaptation of Adam Curtis' 25 Million Pounds, which details Nick Leeson's speculation in the mid-1990s, which lost £827 million ($1.3 billion) and lead to the collapse of Barings Bank.

In our contrasting second hour, we present a radio adaptation of The Economics of Happiness, a film by Helena Norberg-Hodge, Steen Gorelick and John Page. This is similar in spirit to Lessons from Ladakh, this presents a critique of economic globalization, free trade and the movement from villages to cities. It points out that government policies are heavily biased against local businesses and the free market, in favor of multinationals. The film suggests that as resources dwindle, relocalization is inevitable. A vital step to relocalization, it says, is for citizens to assert control over what governments tax, regulate and subsidize.

Robin Upton
- e-mail: unwelcome [At] unwelcome Guests [d0t] net
- Homepage: www.unwelcomeguests.net/601

Comments

Display the following 3 comments

  1. Why do corporations behave like this? — anarchist
  2. globalisation — anarchist
  3. More hiddens — ftp