Gary F. (garythefowler) reviewed Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered. on + 65 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent! Originally published in 1973, but not at all dated; a classic consideration of the intersection of economics and values/ethics. Insightful observations and questions; principles that carry well into the 21st century; and in that sense, a prophetic work. Big ideas, easy read, foundational in its arena.
kickerdad -
Helpful Score: 1
I can remember asking my father when I was relatively young what happened when growth stopped, when big stopped getting bigger. Nearly everything in my experience has been build upon the concept that more is better and bigger is best. In a finite system, at some point there must be an end. E.F. Schumacher's book "Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered" lays out a frank, and sometimes startling, answer to that question. He doesn't provide an end, but a picture of bleak possibilities.
I don't know much about economics other than being a consumer and being a middle manager in medium sized U.S. business. What does make sense to me is that it is difficult to have a field (economics) be portrayed as providing science-exacting results when it always begins with wide guess work and assumptions. Nothing wrong with that, most all social sciences have to, but call a spade a spade.
I found the book a mixture of tightly wrapped philosophy fraying at the edges with fervor and passion. Schumacher makes some very logically presented arguments but I often struggled with some of 'obvious' starting assumptions. It was also fascinating to read this book in 2020. Written in 1973 it is filled with dire predictions of 1980 and the year 2000. At the time "Small is Beautiful" was considered left of Marx - Schumacher does as much finger pointing at socialism as he does as capitalism, indicating neither has economics right - but in today's world the book is probably left-centrist than in decades past. Regardless of which side of the political chasm you stand, there are plenty of thoughtful nuggets about how our society got to where it is and where it is heading.
I don't know much about economics other than being a consumer and being a middle manager in medium sized U.S. business. What does make sense to me is that it is difficult to have a field (economics) be portrayed as providing science-exacting results when it always begins with wide guess work and assumptions. Nothing wrong with that, most all social sciences have to, but call a spade a spade.
I found the book a mixture of tightly wrapped philosophy fraying at the edges with fervor and passion. Schumacher makes some very logically presented arguments but I often struggled with some of 'obvious' starting assumptions. It was also fascinating to read this book in 2020. Written in 1973 it is filled with dire predictions of 1980 and the year 2000. At the time "Small is Beautiful" was considered left of Marx - Schumacher does as much finger pointing at socialism as he does as capitalism, indicating neither has economics right - but in today's world the book is probably left-centrist than in decades past. Regardless of which side of the political chasm you stand, there are plenty of thoughtful nuggets about how our society got to where it is and where it is heading.
