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It goes without saying that E. F. Schumacher has had a major impact on my life, personal and professional.
I discovered Schumacher and “Small is Beautiful” in 1979. To be precise: on August 11, 1979. I had written the date I purchased the book on the first page. At that time I was an undergraduate studying economics at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
When I saw the book in the window of a second-hand book shop, I was, very much intrigued by the title and also the sub-title Economics as if people mattered which caught my imagination. Thus, I bought the book and began to read it immediately. I could not put it down and finished it in a few days.
For sure I didn't understand every word, indeed I suspect I was lost at times, but it thrilled me. Here was a new way of looking at many questions in my head about economics and the economy, an approach that I felt in my enthusiasm was so absolutely right that it couldn't possibly be opposed. I was instantly converted to a new way of looking at my personal life as well as the socio-political and economic concepts. I suspect I became a `small is beautiful' man!
“In the name of profit and technological progress, Schumacher argued, modern economic policies had created rampant inefficiency, environmental degradation and dehumanising labour conditions. Ever bigger machines, entailing ever bigger concentrations of economic power and exerting ever greater violence against the environment, do not represent progress: they are a denial of wisdom. Wisdom demands a new orientation of science and technology towards the organic, the gentle, the non-violent, the elegant and beautiful," he wrote.
Read the full article:
Small is Beautiful:
The Wisdom of E.F. Schumacher
16 August 1911-4 September 1977
"Perhaps we cannot raise the winds. But each of us can put up the sail, so that when the wind comes we can catch it." - E. F. Schumacher, Small Is Beautiful
Kamran Mofid
(Written in appreciation of E.F. Schumacher and in celebration of his centenary)
Small is Beautiful: The Wisdom of E.F. Schumacher
Also see:
Alistair McGowan praises green economist E F Schumacher
BBC News 8 November 2013
"Alistair McGowan headed to the allotments to explain why his favourite thinker is the green economist E F Schumacher, who is best known for his 1973 book Small Is Beautiful.
The impressionist, actor, and environmentalist said the German's book was still relevant 40 years on: "People thought he was ahead of his time then, but actually we are still catching up with theories now."
Watch the video: Alistair McGowan praises green economist E F Schumacher Close
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Eight Fallacies about Growth
by Herman Daly
Prof. Herman Daly (Herman Daly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) has had a major influence on my economic thinking, study and teaching. I discovered Daly in mid 1990s, when I purchased “For the Common Good”.-Photo:bing.com
For the Common Good is a profound critique of conventional economic theories and policies. Daly and his Co-author, the theologian and philosopher, John B. Cobb, provide an alternative approach to economics, one that is more humanistic and less scientific. Their criticisms are rooted in a religious/philosophical framework of stewardship and community.
Daly is also a staunch advocate of sustainable development and steady-state economics. Here is an excerpt from his recent article, highlighting the fallacy of economic growth:
Eight Fallacies about Growth
by Herman Daly
…The idea that growth could conceivably cost more than it is worth at the margin, and therefore become uneconomic in the literal sense, will not be considered. But, aside from political denial, why do people (frequently economists) not understand that continuous growth of the economy (measured by either real GDP or resource throughput) could in theory, and probably has in fact, become uneconomic? What is it that confuses them?
Read the full article here.
Read More:
Two Meanings of “Economic Growth”
The Fallacy of Economic Growth: In Praise of Robert F. Kennedy
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Photo:image.slidesharecdn.com
How economic growth has become anti-life
An obsession with growth has eclipsed our concern for sustainability, justice and human dignity. But people are not disposable – the value of life lies outside economic development
By Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva is a philosopher, environmental activist and author. She is one of the leaders and board members of the International Forum on Globalisation (Vandana Shiva - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)-Photo:cornucopia.org
“Limitless growth is the fantasy of economists, businesses and politicians. It is seen as a measure of progress. As a result, gross domestic product (GDP), which is supposed to measure the wealth of nations, has emerged as both the most powerful number and dominant concept in our times. However, economic growth hides the poverty it creates through the destruction of nature, which in turn leads to communities lacking the capacity to provide for themselves.
The concept of growth was put forward as a measure to mobilise resources during the second world war. GDP is based on creating an artificial and fictitious boundary, assuming that if you produce what you consume, you do not produce. In effect , “growth” measures the conversion of nature into cash, and commons into commodities.
Thus nature’s amazing cycles of renewal of water and nutrients are defined into nonproduction. The peasants of the world,who provide 72% of the food, do not produce; women who farm or do most of the housework do not fit this paradigm of growth either. A living forest does not contribute to growth, but when trees are cut down and sold as timber, we have growth. Healthy societies and communities do not contribute to growth, but disease creates growth through, for example, the sale of patented medicine.
Water available as a commons shared freely and protected by all provides for all. However, it does not create growth. But when Coca-Cola sets up a plant, mines the water and fills plastic bottles with it, the economy grows. But this growth is based on creating poverty – both for nature and local communities. Water extracted beyond nature’s capacity to renew and recharge creates a water famine. Women are forced to walk longer distances looking for drinking water. In the village of Plachimada in Kerala, when the walk for water became 10 kms, local tribal woman Mayilamma said enough is enough. We cannot walk further; the Coca-Cola plant must shut down. The movement that the women started eventually led to the closure of the plant”… Read the full article
Read more:
In Praise of the Economic Students at the Sorbonne: The Class of 2000
Towards an Education Worth Believing In
Small is Beautiful: The Wisdom of E.F. Schumacher
Economics and Economists Engulfed By Crises: What Do We Tell the Students?
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