Boleslaw
05-17-2006, 07:02 PM
http://www.fguide.org/Bulletin/Schumacher.htm
Small Is Beautiful: An Introduction to E. F. Schumacher (2/5/03)
By Noah Enelow
Few economists of the last fifty years have offered more striking alternatives to mainstream economic thinking than Ernest Friedrich Schumacher. Born in Germany but spending the bulk of his working life in England, Schumacher's career afforded him the ability to critique the economic system from within, and propose alternatives - not primarily through policy prescriptions, but through a radically different attitude towards life. He spent twenty years as the Chief Economic Advisor to the National Coal Board of Britain, and through that organization became intimately acquainted with problems of energy supply and environmental sustainability. Meanwhile, his interest in gardening, his study of Buddhist and Taoist thought, and his admiration for the work and philosophy of Gandhi led him to expand his economic thinking towards a wider set of values that he called "meta-economic."
Several of Schumacher's ideas are particularly relevant to contemporary economic life. Perhaps the foremost among these is the idea of decentralization. Schumacher's idea of decentralization is more complex than simply breaking up a larger unit into smaller units. Rather, Schumacher proposed the idea of "smallness within bigness"; in other words, for a large organization to work it must behave like a related group of small organizations. In discussing economic development and poverty alleviation, this philosophy prescribes an orientation toward "regional" development strategies, which involve primarily local production for local use. In the era of globalization, this philosophy entails a radical rethinking of the orientation towards exports so often prescribed by international economic institutions.
Schumacher's most radical break with the mainstream of economic thought, however, comes with his willingness to sacrifice economic growth - for so long the Holy Grail of economic policy and strategy - for a more fulfilling working life. Perhaps more than any economist since Karl Marx, Schumacher called attention to the quality of people's lives as producers, even stressing its importance over their lives as consumers. Work, rather than being, as in neoclassical theory, a "disutility," becomes in Schumacher's philosophy a means towards satisfaction, fulfillment, and personal development.
In order to bring about these more fulfilling working lives, Schumacher proposes a radically different relationship between human beings and technology. The purpose of technology up until this point, he argues, has been to produce as much output per labor input as possible. The devices invented for this purpose, however, have not only served the dubious end of making many workers redundant, but their prohibitively high cost discourages self-employment. As a solution, Schumacher proposes an "intermediate technology," one which can be easily purchased and used by poor people, and which can lead to greater productivity while minimizing social dislocation. Today, the Intermediate Technology Development Group works with agriculturists, food producers, small miners, and small manufacturers throughout the world to develop these tools.
Schumacher's ideas have taken root in multiple forms and remain an ongoing and vital part of the discourse of economics. The E. F. Schumacher Society, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is the foremost center for the spread of Schumacher's ideas in the United States. Founded in 1980 by a group of Schumacher's friends and students, the Society contains a vast library of Schumacher's works and a repository for communities currently putting his ideas into practice. The Society's three top priorities are to stimulate the production of local currencies, to promote affordable access to and sustainable use of land through community land trusts, and to encourage and provide assistance to worker ownership and management of firms. Visit the website below to learn more.
Sources and Resources:
Schumacher, E. F. Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered. New York: Harper and Row, 1973.
E. F. Schumacher Society www.smallisbeautiful.org
Small Is Beautiful: An Introduction to E. F. Schumacher (2/5/03)
By Noah Enelow
Few economists of the last fifty years have offered more striking alternatives to mainstream economic thinking than Ernest Friedrich Schumacher. Born in Germany but spending the bulk of his working life in England, Schumacher's career afforded him the ability to critique the economic system from within, and propose alternatives - not primarily through policy prescriptions, but through a radically different attitude towards life. He spent twenty years as the Chief Economic Advisor to the National Coal Board of Britain, and through that organization became intimately acquainted with problems of energy supply and environmental sustainability. Meanwhile, his interest in gardening, his study of Buddhist and Taoist thought, and his admiration for the work and philosophy of Gandhi led him to expand his economic thinking towards a wider set of values that he called "meta-economic."
Several of Schumacher's ideas are particularly relevant to contemporary economic life. Perhaps the foremost among these is the idea of decentralization. Schumacher's idea of decentralization is more complex than simply breaking up a larger unit into smaller units. Rather, Schumacher proposed the idea of "smallness within bigness"; in other words, for a large organization to work it must behave like a related group of small organizations. In discussing economic development and poverty alleviation, this philosophy prescribes an orientation toward "regional" development strategies, which involve primarily local production for local use. In the era of globalization, this philosophy entails a radical rethinking of the orientation towards exports so often prescribed by international economic institutions.
Schumacher's most radical break with the mainstream of economic thought, however, comes with his willingness to sacrifice economic growth - for so long the Holy Grail of economic policy and strategy - for a more fulfilling working life. Perhaps more than any economist since Karl Marx, Schumacher called attention to the quality of people's lives as producers, even stressing its importance over their lives as consumers. Work, rather than being, as in neoclassical theory, a "disutility," becomes in Schumacher's philosophy a means towards satisfaction, fulfillment, and personal development.
In order to bring about these more fulfilling working lives, Schumacher proposes a radically different relationship between human beings and technology. The purpose of technology up until this point, he argues, has been to produce as much output per labor input as possible. The devices invented for this purpose, however, have not only served the dubious end of making many workers redundant, but their prohibitively high cost discourages self-employment. As a solution, Schumacher proposes an "intermediate technology," one which can be easily purchased and used by poor people, and which can lead to greater productivity while minimizing social dislocation. Today, the Intermediate Technology Development Group works with agriculturists, food producers, small miners, and small manufacturers throughout the world to develop these tools.
Schumacher's ideas have taken root in multiple forms and remain an ongoing and vital part of the discourse of economics. The E. F. Schumacher Society, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is the foremost center for the spread of Schumacher's ideas in the United States. Founded in 1980 by a group of Schumacher's friends and students, the Society contains a vast library of Schumacher's works and a repository for communities currently putting his ideas into practice. The Society's three top priorities are to stimulate the production of local currencies, to promote affordable access to and sustainable use of land through community land trusts, and to encourage and provide assistance to worker ownership and management of firms. Visit the website below to learn more.
Sources and Resources:
Schumacher, E. F. Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered. New York: Harper and Row, 1973.
E. F. Schumacher Society www.smallisbeautiful.org