when small is beautiful Published in 1973, it was an instant hit. It is one of the most read books by members of the British Parliament. In the United States, the book was well received. Schumacher addressed huge audiences across the country and was even received by then-President Jimmy Carter at the White House.
Schumacher told me: “Economics should serve man, not man serve economics. Moreover, economics must preserve the integrity of nature. In other words, economics is as important as man and the planet.”
harmless
“What are the characteristics of this economics?” I asked him (past tense.
“Such economics should be small, simple, and harmless,” he replied. “In order to keep things simple and innocuous, organizations need to put people first.”
For Schumacher, simplicity and innocence are fundamental principles of a properly functioning economy, and of society as a whole.
Small scale, Schumacher believes, favors simplicity, solidarity, diversity, locality and indigenousness: all ideals to which he aspires. Large scale favors complexity, separation, unity, globality, and monumentality: the goals he least admires. In his view, the small scale is more consistent with moral values than the large scale.
He also believes that ethics and economics should not be separated, and that ethical economics should be based on the principle that we should always pay attention not to harm nature, human beings, or ourselves. This harmless economics needs to be kept simple. “Any fool can complicate things. It takes a genius to keep it simple,” he added.
beauty
Because of our conversation, I started to take simplicity seriously. However, I also feel that simplicity alone is not enough. It takes an extra dimension, a dimension of elegance. I call it Elegant Simplicity, which led to a book of the same name. I think things should be simple, but also elegant – a messy mind, a messy life, a messy home, is neither simple nor elegant.
Like Schumacher, my mother believed in living a simple life. She believes that in order to make life simple, we need to embrace the BUD principles: beautiful, functional and durable.
Modern materialist economics ignores the importance of beauty, but the lack of beauty leads to spiritual poverty. Without beauty, our souls would starve, even if our bodies were full. Therefore, we should not make anything that is not beautiful. Also, beauty and utility should not be separated. Form and function need to complement each other.
Arts and crafts need to be an integral part of simple living. Additionally, aesthetics and utility need to be balanced with durability. Frugality is an important aspect of simplicity. Inner obsolescence is a crime against nature!
Sustainable
The BUD principle makes simplicity elegant. We can and should all live a good life, live a comfortable life, live a happy life. Simplicity should not be associated with a monotonous or dull life. Simplicity is the soil in which we can cultivate a large mind.
What good is it if our stores are well stocked with utensils, but our souls are poor? It made perfect sense to combine Schumacher’s philosophy of simplicity with my mother’s BUD principles: BUD makes simplicity both elegant and spiritual.
In my opinion, simplicity and elegance are prerequisites for sustainable development. All our tools and technology, our clothing and gadgets, our cars and computers, our trains and planes, and everything we use in our profligate lifestyles come from nature’s finite resources.
We cannot satisfy all our insatiable consumption, our infinite and limitless needs from a finite earth which are driven by our greed. So elegant simplicity is an essential requirement to meet our real needs in a sustainable way.
debt
Elegant simplicity is also a prerequisite for social justice. We need to live simply so that others can live simply. If some of us live a life of luxury, amassing more “stuff” than we really need, many of our fellow humans will be unable to meet their most basic needs.
Just as Schumacher proposed the economics of ethics, elegant simplicity proposes the economics of fairness. Elegant simplicity provides the right backdrop for this combination.
This holy trinity of ethics, economics, and equity can address many of our pressing problems, such as environmental injustice and social injustice. Ethics, economics, and fairness are the moral social and ecological imperatives of our time.
EF Schumacher was a good friend and mentor of mine.his book small is beautiful inspire me to write Elegant and simple. Therefore, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of publication small is beautifulI admit that I am deeply indebted to him.
the author
Satish Kumar to speak at Small Is the Future conference in Bristol on 17 June 2023 ecologist and the Schumacher Institute.his book is elegant Simplicity: The Art of the Good Life From Zhongxing store. Satish is part of the management team at Resurgence Trust, which owns and publishes ecologist.
