Books

Books : reviews

E. F. Schumacher.
Small is Beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered.
Abacus. 1973

Small is Beautiful looks at the economic structure of the Western world in a revolutionary way. For Dr Schumacher maintains that Man’s current pursuit of profit and progress, which promotes giant organisations and increased specialisation, has in fact resulted in gross economic inefficiency, environmental pollution and inhumane working conditions. Dr Schumacher challenges the doctrine of economic, technological and scientific specialisation and proposes a system of Intermediate Technology, based on smaller working units, communal ownership, and regional workplaces utilising local labour and resources. With the emphasis on the person not the product, Small is Beautiful points the way to a world in which Capital serves Man instead of Man remaining a slave to Capital.