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zipdaclypse's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
It’s remarkable (and a bit depressing) how many of his philosophical questions back in the 1970s feel like questions posed today, as well as how many of his predictions about economic development and environmental degradation were fairly accurate (despite writing to the acceleration of the greenhouse effect). I found his explanation on the importance of Buddhist economics particularly engaging, as well as his ideas around how to balance innovation and freedom with new forms of ownership and business structure.
bluestarfish's review against another edition
4.0
"Small is Beautiful" is such a resonant phrase, and I have heard it for years before finally reading Schumacher's classic book. It is a very refreshing take on economics as if people mattered (as per the subtitle) and does a great job of pointing out some of the absurd assumptions that were rife in the 1970s. What makes it a little bit more hard to read now is that those same assumptions still seem to be in play and that's just depressing. I found the analysis of private ownership and its relationship to the work done by individuals particularly helpful. And I also found it reassuring that some of the ideas Schumacher talks about in the book he and others put into practise and that e.g. Practical Action is still going strong and doing great things.
Talking about this book with someone their overwhelming memory is of it being about coal! I didn't find this to be the case at all, even though coal is mentioned! Some of the chapters are based on talks Schumacher did so there's some slight repetition of ideas and content between the chapters but I found this more helpful than annoying as the variation helped make the ideas clearer in my head. I am glad to have finally read this book.
Talking about this book with someone their overwhelming memory is of it being about coal! I didn't find this to be the case at all, even though coal is mentioned! Some of the chapters are based on talks Schumacher did so there's some slight repetition of ideas and content between the chapters but I found this more helpful than annoying as the variation helped make the ideas clearer in my head. I am glad to have finally read this book.
morlyre's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.0
A seminal, if somewhat dated take on people-centred-economics.
thejdizzler's review
5.0
Wow. Really enjoyed this one. Schumacher really highlights a key insight about economics: namely that all the labor-saving in the world isn't going to give dignity to the people that you're trying to help if that labor-saving just leaves them unemployed. Intermediate technology is the name of the game, even more so because of our impending fossil-fuels crisis.