Small is Beautiful: Economics as If People Mattered, 25 Years Later...with Commentaries [Paperback]

Truer words were never spoken. There are those who will point out detail errors in Schumacher's work. The book was, after all, written over 25 years ago, and Schumacher would never have considered himself a prophet. Yet the central theme of his work, that infinite economic growth is impossible within a finite system, and the inevitable consequences of ignoring this simple truth have been fully vindicated. Even the most orthodox economists are beginning to see the disasterous environmental and social consequences of their economic policies over the last 50+ years, which Schumacher describes in detail, and warn policy makers that major changes must be made. Schumacher also proposed a highly effective and practical method, Intermediate Technology, to help impoverished and developing nations make the best possible use of modern scientific and technological advances, without the vast (and for countless millions in the world impossible) financial investments and ecological/social consequences. In 1965 Schumacher and a few friends started the Intermediate Technology Development Group ...which continues to develop practical applications of his ideas in the developing world. Small is Beautiful - a Study of Economics as if People Mattered, along with his other two key books Good Work, which explores the question of the effects of modern economics on the individual and the very purpose of work itself, and A Guide for the Perplexed, which outlines the philosophical and spiritual underpinnings of Schumacher's work, provide a powerful and compelling alternative view of economics and our world - a view every bit as applicable today as it was in his lifetime.

An earlier reviewer who seemed to have no grasp of economics or recent history (Gen Ne Win is no more a Buddhist than Hitler was a Jew - he in fact deliberately set out to destroy the cultural and economic system of Burma - including Buddhism itself. To use this example to "invalidate" the chapter "Buddhist Economics" totally destroys this reviewer's credibility) stated that "a wise world has ignored his bad advice & prospered." Far from it. In the end, a wiser world will be forced to look back on Schumacher's book and conclude that he was, in fact, right.

Schumacher makes economics come alive with wit, humor, and practicality. His approach is qualitative, not quantitative. A recurring statement throughout the book epitomizes his philosophy, "Why use the computer if you can make the calculation on the back of an envelope"? He gives the science a personality when identifying the disparities between the rich and poor, the educated and uneducated, and the gap between city people and country-folk.

Small is Beautiful created a humanistic economics movement. It's a wholistic approach containing ethical, ecological, and metaphysical components that are missing from the statistical models that solely measure GNP. Schumacher sounded the alarm regarding globalization when asking "how much further 'growth' will be possible, since infinate growth in a finite environment is an obvious impossibility". He was critical of a society that generates unbounded materialism, and motivated by greed and envy.

Some of the more interesting of the 20 essays are: "Peace and Permanence", "The Role of Economics", "Buddhist Economics", "The Greatest Resource - Education", "Technology with a Human Face", "Development of Intermediate Technology", and "Two Million Villages".

Although the book was written in 1973, it is as timely now as it was then. The 25th anniversary edition contains provocative updates provided as sidebars by contributors such as Hazel Henderson, Peter Warshall, Amory Lovins, Godric Bader, et al.

Well, not Fritz Shumacher. Today, in 2001, "Small Is Beautiful" is 25 years old, and almost every single prediction in the book, from the power, deshumanization, and cross-borders character of corporation, to the threat to the environment, to the ineffectiveness of liberalism in addressing the problems of the developing world, have become true.

Of special interest are the chapters that deal with adoption of technology, and the role of technology in development. In Schumacher's insights may lie the key to making development an inherent process of each society, instead of an external, massive, and rarely effective effort.

The last few chapters, about "socializing" large corporations, may be somewhat utopian in today's world, but still merit reflection.

Shumacher died soon after having published his book, so he didn't have the opportunity of spreading or developing his work. Still, this is a must read for anyone interested in sound, alternative views to the prevailing ones of "larger is better", or "if what we're doing doesn't work, we must do more of it".