#52 Helena Norberg-Hodge - Resisting the Global Monoculture Through Localization

Death in The Garden

On this episode of “Death in The Garden,” we had the pleasure of interviewing Helena Norberg-Hodge, linguist, author, and filmmaker behind the incredible localization organization, Local Futures. She has written several books, such as Ancient Futures and Local is Our Future: Steps to an Economics of Happiness.

In this expansive interview we discuss the broad impacts of globalization and development and how it has atomized our society, standardized our cultural diversity, and laid waste to the biodiversity of the ecosystems from which we depend. We discuss how colonization continues to sever community-reliance, and the importance of emphasizing human-scale local knowledge systems in our quest to create a more just world outside of the global corporate economic structure. We talk about how important it is for us to continually educate ourselves on the global context we all live under, as well as gaining intimate local knowledge which informs how we move through our landscapes and communities. Helena breaks down the myth of the “Global Village” and how this corporate ploy has led to the insane economic system of highly destructive comparative advantage that we see today. Above all, we talk about the importance of liberating our minds from the strictures of the story of mechanization, standardization, globalization, and atomization that exists ambiently in our culture, informing our “solutioneering” and detracting from our ability to create lasting, meaningful change.

Be sure to follow Local Futures on Instagram and Twitter, and consider participating in the Planet Local Summit in Bristol, Sept. 29 - Oct. 1.

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Editing: Maren Morgan

Music: “SING” by My Chemical Romance

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