Small Is Beautiful in the 21st Century: The legacy of E.F. Schumacher (17) (Schumacher Briefings)

He exhorted all to rely on ‘people power’ and their own mental and physical inventiveness, rather than basing their futures on imported capital and energy-intensive technologies which reduce need for the human workforce. The message still flies in the face of most prevailing political and economic policies today, but has had a profound influence on very many organisations and institutions including those represented in this Briefing.Fritz Schumacher’s second book, A Guide for the Perplexed,9 followed in 1977. In it he outlined his deepest spiritual beliefs, and it was the distillation of his lifelong search for truth. Other publications such as Good Work,10Schumacher on Energy11 and This I Believe 12 were produced posthumously and were based on his earlier writings in different publications and journals, including Resurgence magazine.The strength of Schumacher’s arguments still lies in the timeless spiritual wisdom they represent, and in his exceptional ability to address problems at the systems level and to communicate solutions simply and practically. His message was an inclusive one: “Do not break down problems into isolated components, but look at the world and see it whole”. It is only a complete metanoia in all departments of life, rather than engaging in an ‘over-extending battle with symptoms’, which will educate us to change sufficiently fundamentally so that we can avoid the universal breakdown which we face in today’s society. During His Lifetime Schumacher Set Up The Intermediate Technology Group, And Was Closely Involved With The Work Of The Soil Association. In The 35 Years Since He Died, Many Other Organisations Have Been Established Which Owe Their Primary Inspiration To Schumacher. 'small Is Beautiful In The 21st Century' Traces This Legacy Through The Activities And Outreach Of Those Pioneers Who, Over The Years, Have Been Working On Practical Solutions To Our Interrelated Global Crises. In Particular, It Describes The Activities Of A Number Of Flourishing Organisations, Some Large And Some Small, That Have Remained Closely Linked With Schumacher's Ideas And Work, And Have Become An Informal Network Known As The Schumacher Circle. 1. Who Was E.f. Schumacher? -- 2. The Schumacher Society -- 3. Third World Development Models -- 4. Food, Agriculture And Land Use -- 5. Small-scale Technologies For Local Sustainability -- 6. The Call For A New Economics -- 7. Transforming Industrial Work In The First World -- 8. The Relevance Of E.f. Schumacher Today. Diana Schumacher. Includes Bibliographical References. Annotation During the 35 years since the publication of Fritz Schumachers seminal bestseller Small is Beautiful: economics as if people mattered, many of his prophetic warnings have come to pass. Small is Beautiful in the 21st Century traces Schumachers legacy through the activities and outreach of those pioneers who, over the years, have been working on practical solutions to our interrelated global crises. In particular, it describes how several flourishing organisations, some large and some small, have remained closely linked with his ideas and work, and have since become associated as the Schumacher Circle. The particular contribution of Fritz Schumacher was to bring a profound wisdom and humanity to bear on the practical challenges of our time, and the Briefing both illuminates Schumachers thinking and shows the ways in which each of us can help to turn our present crisis into the opportunity to build a more kind, just and ecologically sustainable society Small is Beautiful in the 21st Century traces Fritz Schumacher's legacy through the activities and outreach of those pioneers who, over the years, have been working on practical solutions to our interrelated global crises. In particular, it describes how several flourishing organisations, some large and some small, have remained closely linked with his ideas and work, and have since become associated as the Schumacher Circle. The particular contribution of E. F. Schumacher was to bring a profound wisdom and humanity to bear on the practical challenges of our time, and the Briefing both illuminates Schumacher's thinking and shows the ways in which each of us can help to turn our present crisis into the opportunity to build a more kind, just and ecologically sustainable society. "During his lifetime Schumacher set up the Intermediate Technology Group, and was closely involved with the work of the Soil Association. In the 35 years since he died, many other organisations have been established which owe their primary inspiration to Schumacher. 'Small is Beautiful in the 21st Century' traces this legacy through the activities and outreach of those pioneers who, over the years, have been working on practical solutions to our interrelated global crises. In particular, it describes the activities of a number of flourishing organisations, some large and some small, that have remained closely linked with Schumacher's ideas and work, and have become an informal network known as the Schumacher Circle." -- from the back cover

During the 35 years since the publication of Fritz Schumacher's bestselling Small Is Beautiful: Economics as If People Mattered, many of his prophetic warnings have come to pass. Schumacher brought a profound wisdom and humanity to bear on the practical challenges of our time and this briefing illuminates his thinking and shows how we can help to turn out present crisis into the opportunity to build a more kind, just, and ecologically sustainable society. Front cover -- Title page -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Who was E.F. Schumacher? -- Chapter 2: The Schumacher Society: its origins and offshoots -- Chapter 3: Third World development models -- Chapter 4: Food, agriculture and land use -- Chapter 5: Small-scale technologies for local sustainability -- Chapter 6: The call for a new economics -- Chapter 7: Transforming industrial work in the First World -- Chapter 8: The relevance of E.F. Schumacher today -- Notes Who was Fritz Schumacher?The Schumacher SocietyThird World development modelsFood, agriculture and land useSmall-scale technologies for local sustainabilityThe call for a new economicsTransforming industrial work in the First WorldThe relevance of E. F. Schumacher today