Small is Beautiful - A Study of Economics as if People Mattered

“One of the most fateful errors of our age is the belief that the ‘problem of production’ has been solved.”  

Schumacher's suggestion that rapid, high-growth economics are not working for people or the planet is a controversial, but essential idea for the modern world. Small is Beautiful is a collection of essays by the British economist, EF Schumacher which questions just that. First published in 1973, the book remains influential across the world. Written with a mix of environmentalism, economics and philosophy; Schumacher fundamentally questions the purpose, viability and success of our current economic system, mass production, and globalisation. Analysing our use of depleting world resources, he suggests that growth and technological progress are not always the best measures of success. Instead, Small is Beautiful is about keeping our actions and our technology in perspective, and at a human scale to ensure that our economics are in line with the sustainability of humanity and the planet.

We think that Small is Beautiful is relevant now more than ever.

The world is at a point where the entire economic eco-system is being brought into question as ‘trickle-down’ economics are failing to work effectively. At the same time we are seeing changes in the make-up of the economy as micro-businesses and self-employed individuals are becoming an increasingly significant proportion of the workforce, highlighted by the recent RSA summit

What bits should you look out for?

Small is Beautiful continues to be a go-to book for the Make Works team, as we navigate where and how to develop a locally focussed, not-for-profit, tech-platform. In particular, Chapter 10 is of interest, titled ‘Technology with a human face’. Here, Schumacher looks to the work of Gandhi, stating that “the poor of the world cannot be helped by mass production, only by production by the masses.” The chapter then goes on to discuss the use of human hands, the meaning of fulfilling work, and how we can collectively use technology to support real people with the tools they need in everyday life.

This idea that ‘instead of mass production, production by the masses’ can be seen in the current shift towards a redistribution of manufacturing, or trends such as mass customisation. Looking at the big picture, Small is Beautiful reminds us that it is of global interest to make small scale, local manufacturing possible. 

Related titles -

This Changes Everything - Naomi Klein

Building Social Business, The new type of capitalism that serves humanity’s most pressing needs - Muhammed Yunus

Make Works’ Fi, was one of the speakers at the Small is Beautiful conference in Glasgow last week. She discussed the influence that this book has had on the development and ethos of the company. You can find out more about the annual conference here.

Find out what Make Works thought of Open Design Now, a comprehensive collection of articles and case studies about the people that are using the influential trend of what has been deemed ‘open design’.