Localisation: for People and The Earth.

Are we on the brink of a new common sense?

Whilst those of us in the UK have been trying to figure out how to create value out of Brexit, The Economics of Happiness conference in Bangalore, India offers a clear and confident narrative about localism and globalisation that transcends the Leave / Remain divide.

Pretty much as we have been witnessing on the pages of the Daily Alternative, there is growing evidence that, while people have been saying No to the pressures of globalisation over decades, there are now increasingly structured ways to resist, that are taking root around the world.

At the core of these developments is an emphasis on connection - how distant global corporations and anonymous markets have made us feel powerless, with no control over our own lives and fortunes. Taking back control - is that familiar? - can take the shape of more local economic activity, quickly giving rise to new business and energy networks close to where we live.

Whether it starts with local food initiatives or, more directly, with reclaiming power from national political parties as the Independents for Frome did with the Flatpack Democracy method, there are more and more examples of communities taking the steering wheel and setting the direction for their own survival and flourishing. 

This is not a singular good strategy, scaled up by the architects of change. What we are hearing here, is that it is a global phenomenon, co-inciding across continents - an increasingly common response to an era of corporate globalisation which is less popular by the day. Yet each example is unique and belonging to the culture and circumstances in which it is being generated: a move towards reclaiming our global diversity. 

In that sense, localisation is so much more than the offer from the Leave campaign. Rather than gaining the freedom to compete with others across the globe, localism is offering a reconnection with those who, like ourselves, are looking for more synergy, more collaboration.

With better outcomes both for people and planet.