E. F. Schumacher
Also known as Ernst Friedrich Schumacher, Fritz Schumacher
German-born British economist (1911 to 1977) of human-scale, appropriate technology.
At a glance
Main ideas
Natural capital is not income, Buddhist economics, Appropriate technology …
See all 6Books to start with
Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered, A Guide for the Perplexed, Good Work
See all 3Connections
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Schumacher was an economist and statistician who argued for human-scale, decentralised and appropriate technology.
- He was Chief Economic Adviser to the British National Coal Board from 1950 to 1970.
- A 1955 trip to Burma led him to what he called Buddhist economics, built on the idea that people need good work.
- His 1973 essay collection Small Is Beautiful brought these ideas to a wide audience and made him a hero of the environmental movement.
Why it matters
- He is the starting point for appropriate technology and for the argument that an economy should be judged by what it does for people and the earth, not by size.
Key facts
- Born
- 16 Aug 1911, Bonn, Germany1
- Died
- 4 Sep 1977, of a heart attack, at Billens hospital in Romont, Switzerland, during a lecture tour1
- Education
- Bonn and Berlin; Rhodes Scholar at New College, Oxford, from 1930; diploma in economics, Columbia University1
- Coal Board
- Chief Economic Adviser to the National Coal Board from 1950 to 19701
- Founded
- The Intermediate Technology Development Group, now Practical Action, in 19661
- Writer
- Economics writer and chief editorial writer at The Times; also wrote for The Economist and Resurgence1
- Advised
- The India Planning Commission and the governments of Zambia and Burma1
- Award
- Prix européen de l'essai Charles Veillon (1976), for Small Is Beautiful1
Main ideas
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Natural capital is not income1
Production is not a solved problem if it erodes finite natural capital and robs future generations.
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Buddhist economics1
Individuals need good work for proper human development; local production for local needs is most rational.
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Appropriate technology1
Tools that are user-friendly, ecologically suitable and sized to the community.
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The question of size1
Following Leopold Kohr, he argued for smaller nations and communities and against "the idolatry of large size".
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Smallness within bigness1
Large organisations stay efficient only by breaking into federations of smaller units, as the Coal Board did.
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Coal over oil1
At the Coal Board he argued oil was finite and its cheapest reserves lay in unstable countries.
Books to start with
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Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered1
Essays on economics at a human scale.
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A Guide for the Perplexed1
A critique of materialistic scientism and an inquiry into the nature of knowledge.
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Good Work1
Published after his death.
Connections
Writes
Links
Sources
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