E. F. Schumacher

E. F. Schumacher (1911-1977) was an influential economist in Britain. He was born in Bonn, Germany in 1911. When he was young, he studied in Bonn and Berlin. Then he studied in New College, Oxford, and later at Columbia University in New York. He served as Chief Economic Adviser in the UK National Coal Board in the last century. He was known as an economist in the English world in the 1970s. His most famous contribution is his research of appropriate technologies, which was originally called intermediate technology. In 1976, he got the prestigious award Prix Européen de l'Essai Charles Veillon for Small is Beautiful. In 1977, he published a book named A Guide for the Perplexed, which explores the nature and criticizes materialist scientism.

In 1973, his book Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered was published. This book was considered as one of 100 most influential books since World War II. The title small is beautiful comes from a phrase said by his teacher. Compared with the tradition idea of “bigger is better”, “small is beautiful ” is a subversive discussion in the economic field. This book brought Schumacher to public because of his criticism of Western economics during the 1973 energy crisis and the emergency of globalization. This book is divided into four parts, including the modern world, resources, the third world and organization and ownership. In the first part, the author pointed that the economy is unsustainable in modern society. In the next part, he argued that the natural resources is limited and less pollution is good for human. He criticized the idea that “growth is good” and “bigger is better” in the third part. At last, he insisted that it is necessary for human beings to use the technology appropriately. And he pointed out “Buddhist economics” in the last chapter.