E. F. Schumacher: Changing the Paradigm of Bigger Is Better
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10.1177/0270467603251313
Varma / E. F. SCHUMACHER
ARTICLE
BULLETIN OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY / MONTH YEAR
E. F. Schumacher: Changing
the Paradigm of Bigger Is Better
Roli Varma
University of New Mexico
In the mid-1970s, the phrase “small is beautiful” ther and further removed from many of the major deci-
became a counterculture slogan against the indus- sions taken by the society in which he or she lives. Less
trial threat to the environment and the scarcity of re- developed countries face additional problems of drain
sources. Arguing against excessive materialism and on foreign reserves, technological dependence, high
meaningless growth, the late Dr. Ernest Friedrich unemployment rate, and severe poverty.
Schumacher—the author of Small Is Beautiful: Eco- With a diagnosis of the crisis threatening Western
nomics as if People Mattered, promoted the use of and less developed countries, Schumacher (1973)
small-scale technology to benefit both humankind and challenged the modern belief that “bigger is better”
the environment. As an economist trained in a market- and replaced it with “small is beautiful” (p. 150). He
oriented discipline, his thinking evolved from believ- forcefully argued that bigness is impersonal, is insen-
ing that large-scale technology could be salvation for sitive, and has lust to power; smallness, on the other
industrial civilization to believing that large-scale hand, is free, efficient, creative, enjoyable, and endur-
technology is the root of degrading human beings and ing. The most important area in which he sought to
the environment. implement smallness was technology, mostly because
the modern world has been shaped by it. Schumacher
Keywords: appropriate technology, technological suggested that the less developed countries should not
development, social aspect of technology, small is imitate Western technological development based on
beautiful the trickle-down approach; instead, the less developed
countries should embrace an alternative path of devel-
The case against the use of large-scale technology opment that is less expensive and thus within reach of
was made by Schumacher between the early 1950s and ordinary people but more productive than indigenous
the late 1970s. It is still legitimate today. Walt technology.
Rostow’s (1960) high–mass consumption age has led What makes Schumacher’s work remarkable is the
to many serious problems in industrial countries. Al philosophical themes woven around the low-cost,
Gore (1992) expressed that global warming, strato- small-scale technology as an alternative to high-cost,
spheric ozone depletion, loss of living species, and large-scale technology. This article is divided into
deforestation have been disrupting the earth’s ecologi- three sections. The first section outlines the essential
cal system. Burning gasoline fills cities with fumes ideas of Schumacher on orthodox economics, indus-
and creates air pollution. Chemical and nuclear energy trial production, materialism, social aspects of tech-
and the high rate of depletion of fossil fuels for indus- nology, Buddhist economics, Western technology in
tries leave future generations in disarray. For mechani- the less developed countries, and intermediate tech-
zation of agriculture to work, 40 calories have to be nology. This is followed by a critical examination of
spent to produce a calorie worth of food. Since 1950, Schumacher’s main thesis, whether small is indeed
the number of insects resistant to insecticides has been beautiful. The final section concludes with a brief life
growing. The individual finds himself or herself fur- history of Schumacher.
Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, Vol. 23, No. X, Month 2003, 1-
DOI: 10.1177/0270467603251313
Copyright 2003 Sage Publications2 BULLETIN OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY / MONTH YEAR
Schumacher’s be placed outside of orthodox economics. For exam-
Philosophical Outlook ple, the practice of environmental conservation has
The Myth of Objectivity no acknowledged place in a society under the
in Orthodox Economics dictatorship of economics. When it is occasion-
ally introduced into the discussion, it tends to be
Since the publication of Adam Smith’s Wealth of treated not merely as a strange but as an undesir-
Nations in 1776, mainstream economists have pushed able alien, probably dishonest and almost cer-
for economics to be a value-free objective science sim- tainly immoral. (p. 17)
ilar to the physical sciences. According to them, eco-
nomics makes positive statements about facts, which The Problem of
are verifiable in principle. Based on definitions and Industrial Production
assumptions, hypotheses are formulated as statements
about the world in which we live. These statements are The economy of Western countries is industrial-
then subject to rigorous analysis on the basis of logic, ized, based on a complex infrastructure and high pro-
mathematical principles, and statistical techniques. If ductivity. Industrial enterprises manufacture a large
proven, they predict how people, things, and systems volume of products at a low cost. Furthermore, they
behave under given conditions. These scientific proce- provide decent employment so people can buy prod-
dures are seen as neutral and thus eliminate the norma- ucts; real personal income has risen to a point that tran-
tive aspects of economics. Accordingly, in 1969, the scends basic necessities such as food, clothing, and
Nobel Prize for “economic science” was established. shelter. The output per worker is high because the pro-
As Professor Erik Lundberg observed, “Economic sci- duction depends on the potentialities created by mod-
ence has developed increasingly in the direction of a ern science and technology. Agriculture is mechanized
mathematical specification and statistical quantifica- and approximately 20% of the population depends on
tion of economic contexts” and has left behind “the it. To maintain production, necessary infrastructures
vague, more literary type of economics” (as cited in such as roads, transportation, and electricity have been
Roszak, 1973, p. 1). developed. Such industrial economies have been
Schumacher argued against the myth of objectivity hailed as panacea to all sorts of economic and social
in orthodox economics. According to him, unlike the problems. It is believed that Western societies’ well-
physical sciences, economics is concerned with being is contingent on the continuous industrial
human choices and actions, which by their very nature expansion. Unless there is an increase in industrial
introduce value elements. Numbers that are relied on production, they will suffer stagnant or lower living
by economists to be objective are often misleading in standards.
reference to human beings. Numbers by themselves Western countries have based their industrial pro-
have no meaning unless significance is established. duction on various sources of energy such as oil, natu-
For example, “the substance of man cannot be mea- ral gas, nuclear, and coal. Schumacher (1973), there-
sured by Gross National Product. Perhaps it cannot be fore, examined facts and figures about the growth of
measured at all, except for certain symptoms of energy production, consumption, demand, and supply.
loss. . . . Statistics never prove anything” (Schumacher, He found industrial production to be predominantly
1973, p. 19). His “theory has always been that figures based on nonrenewable sources of energy, which are
don’t mean anything if you can’t make them sing” finite and thus cannot be replaced after they were con-
(Schumacher, 1979, p. 125). Once meaning is attached sumed. In other words, the world will eventually run
to numbers, they are no longer neutral. out of energy resources with the current consumption
Another example of facts being tainted with values rate. In the era of industrial expansion, Schumacher ar-
in orthodox economics is in the area of money. gued against industrial production that assumed limit-
Schumacher (1967/1982) found this field relies less fossil fuels. He stated that
heavily on the single coefficient of money because it is
concerned mostly with the ability to earn an adequate one of the most fateful errors of our age is the
short-term profit. As a result, economic activities that belief that the problem of production has been
are likely to lower short-term monetary profits tend to solved. This illusion . . . is mainly due to ourVarma / E. F. SCHUMACHER 3
inability to recognize that the modern industrial ronmental crisis stemmed from misplaced values.
system, with all its intellectual sophistication, Unlike religious teachings, materialism shows no self-
consumes the very basis on which it has been control or respect with the natural world. Schumacher
erected. . . . It lives on irreplaceable capital which (1977) made a distinction between “convergent” and
it . . . treats as income. (p. 19) “divergent” problems (p. 121). Convergent problems
relate to the nonliving aspect of the world; in contrast,
He warned that industrial countries contain the seeds divergent problems relate to the human issues. With
of their own destruction. convergent problems, scientific investigations tend to
According to Schumacher, profligate use of natural find solutions; the answers tend to converge. However,
resources has also brought on the crisis of the environ- with divergent problems, scientific investigations lead
ment. For instance, replacing fossil fuels with the use to opposite solutions; the answers tend to diverge.
of nuclear energy means solving “the fuel problem by Schumacher believed that materialism treats all prob-
creating an environmental and ecological problem of lems as convergent and thus dehumanizes individuals.
such a monstrous magnitude” (Schumacher, 1973, He therefore suggested a return to religious truth. In
p. 18). Similarly, the “qualitative jump” in the produc- his words, “the modern experiment to live without reli-
tion of synthetic compounds unknown to nature has gion has failed” (p. 139).
pushed nature’s “tolerance margins.” Such dangerous Schumacher thought of the materialist philosophy
ecological impact threatens to destroy the earth. He of overproduction and overconsumption as a root of
opposed those practices of the modern world that seek many problems facing the modern world. For instance,
to mobilize more resources to fight pollution or dis- the practice of mechanized agriculture and factory
cover new sources of fossil fuels—because they do not farming adds to the pollution of land and water. Simi-
change the methods of industrial production. larly, increasing wealth of people depends on making
continuous demands on limited world resources.
Danger in Materialism Schumacher (1973) questioned measuring a man’s
“standard of living” by assuming that a “man who con-
Materialism holds that the world is by its very sumes more is ‘better off’ than a man who consumes
nature material; the world consists of particles of mat- less” (p. 54). He believed that material prosperity
ter; each of them has its own existence. These particles could not lead to world peace because “it is attainable
interact with each other and in their totality form the only by cultivating such drives of human nature as
world. Matter is objective reality existing outside and greed and envy” (p. 30). According to him, “man must
independent of the mind; anything mental or spiritual never lose his sense of the marvellousness of the world
is a product of material processes. Materialism is around and inside him” (Schumacher, 1974, p. 31). He
based on the scientific investigations of natural phe- therefore promoted “reduction of needs” to promote
nomena and thus seeks explanations in terms of factors “peace and permanence” (Schumacher, 1973, p. 31).
that can be verified. It views each human being as a
social atom with certain inherent properties and attrib- The Value of
utes. In the industrial system of production, material- Buddhist Economics
ism has been reduced to the ideology of market. The
market is seen both as the natural condition of man- The economic system of Western countries has
kind and irresistible; it gives the people what they been called the private enterprise system. It relies pre-
want. The production and consumption of material dominately on a market mechanism to determine allo-
goods and the acquisition of money are the main goals cation of resources, production techniques, pricing,
of the market. It is believed that the generation of and distribution of goods and services. Under a private
wealth will result in satisfaction with nonmaterial enterprise system, economic activities are organized
goods such as justice, harmony, happiness, beauty, and via a system of markets through which buyers and sell-
health. ers interact. Most of the goods and services are pro-
Against materialism, Schumacher believed in ideal- vided by the private sector for profit. They decide what
ism, which views spiritual as prior to the material. For is to be produced, how it is to be produced, and for
him, there was a higher, more real, and nonmaterial whom it is to be provided. Marxist economists have
world beyond the material world. He believed that the called the private enterprise system capitalism because
problem of industrial production resulting in the envi- of the private ownership of the means of production,4 BULLETIN OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY / MONTH YEAR
such as factories, farms, mines, and natural resources. consequences. Even when there are some adverse
In the international division of nations, Western coun- impacts of technology, it remains the necessary price
tries are developed and rich, whereas most African, to be paid for the well-being of a society. There is no
Asian, and Latin American countries are underdevel- need to question the nature and structure of technology
oped and poor. and the ways in which it has developed historically.
Schumacher (1973) found Buddhist economics to Consequently, technology has been hailed as a motor
be based on assumptions, which were not in accor- of all progress, the key to solving our social problems,
dance with Western economics. For instance, Bud- and a source of permanent prosperity. Many believe
dhist economics “tries to maximize human satisfac- that scientific and technical progress will cure dis-
tions by the optimal pattern of consumption,” whereas eases, improve the quality of life, explore space, and
Western economics “tries to maximize consumption develop faster modes of communication. They imag-
by the optimal pattern of productive effort” (p. 55). In ine a technological future that is filled with neatness
Buddhist economics, a high standard of living depends and order, endless gadgets to do all the work, super-
not on maximizing consumption but on minimizing highways, and virtual reality.
consumption. Furthermore, Western economics Schumacher also believed that the modern world
depends on scarce resources to produce and consume has been shaped by technology. However, instead of
material goods; Buddhist economics, on the other admiring technological determinism,1 he showed the
hand, views the wasteful use of natural resources as a destructive impacts of modern technology such as deg-
violent act against the environment, the society, and radation of environment, threat to the existence of hu-
the living world. By not making consumption the sole man race, depletion of natural resources, and disloca-
end of production activity, Buddhist economics tion of labor. He believed that the role of technology in
decreases the depletion of scare resources. society needs to be debated. Given that technological
In Buddhist economics, work is essential for the development is a social process and that the prevailing
happiness and development of each human being. This technology in an industrial society coincides with au-
is in contrast with Western economics, which values thoritarian and hierarchical relationships,2 it is possi-
work in terms of production. In Schumacher’s (1973) ble to conceive a technology that is based on
words, “one of the basic truths of human existence, nonauthoritarian and nonhierarchical relationships. In
namely that work and leisure are complementary parts other words, there are technological alternatives, and
of the same living process and cannot be separated there is no reason to make inappropriate choices in se-
without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of lei- lecting technologies. In Schumacher’s (1973) words,
sure” (p. 52). Buddhist economics, therefore, views
unemployment as an evil because it denies people ful- if that which has been shaped by technology, and
fillment of their potential. “The Buddhist sees the continues to be so shaped, looks sick, it might be
essence of civilization not in a multiplication of wants wise to have a look at technology itself. If tech-
but in the purification of human character. Charac- nology is felt to be becoming more and more
ter . . . is formed primarily by a man’s work” (p. 52). In inhuman, we might do well to consider whether
Western economics, the labor is viewed as a cost, it is possible to have something better—a tech-
which is to be reduced to a minimum. “The basic aim nology with a human face. (p. 138)
of modern industrialism is not to make work satisfying
but to raise productivity: its proudest achievement is He therefore believed in a technological fix, using
labor saving” (Schumacher, 1979, p. 27). technology to solve economic and social problems.
Social Aspect of Technology Inappropriateness of
Western Technology
Technology is generally considered socially neu-
tral, possessing an internal objective logic of its own The core of the development policies of the less
(e.g., Bell, 1980). It is believed that technology devel- developed countries is that by introducing Western
ops as a result of an internal dynamic and then molds technology, they would be revitalized and thus would
society to fit its pattern. One of the implications of start growing on their own. A general assumption is
technology being socially neutral is that technological that the technological transformation of the less devel-
development is a practical necessity regardless of its oped countries is synonymous with the whole processVarma / E. F. SCHUMACHER 5
of socioeconomic development. Less developed coun- stance, “the system of mass production, based on
tries have taken this path of development mainly sophisticated, highly capital-intensive, high energy-
because the characteristic feature of the unprece- input dependent, and human labour-saving technol-
dented epoch of modern economic growth in the West ogy, presupposes that you are already rich”
is the use of modern scientific and technological (Schumacher, 1973, p. 145). As a result, the less devel-
knowledge, which has increased productivity output oped countries have failed to incorporate Western
per unit of all inputs. In contrast, the less developed technology or imitate Western economies.
countries have emerged underdeveloped in relation to
the West. Furthermore, the less developed countries Intermediate Technology
have been characterized by the West as “backward,”
“traditional,” and “lacking scientific and technical tra- Schumacher’s greatest contribution has been on the
ditions” and thus are looked down upon. A theory of role of intermediate technology for the development of
“modernization,” the heart of which is the “transfer of the less developed countries. Schumacher argued that
technology” from the West, has extensively been par- the Western “trickle-down” theory was not leading to
celed to the less developed countries. Since independ- the full employment of poor people in the less devel-
ence from the colonial powers, the less developed oped countries, most of whom lived in rural areas. The
countries have adopted the developmental model of primary consideration of growth-based development
the West. was to maximize output per man in the urban area and
Concerned about the increasing discrepancy be- not work opportunities for the unemployed and under-
tween the rich and poor nations, Schumacher (1973) employed in the rural area. Furthermore, industrial
sought to understand the problems of the less devel- mode of production was unsustainable because it was
oped countries. He questioned Western technology as based on the depletion of natural resources and the
a possible solution to the less developed countries’ de- deterioration of the environment. He did not view
velopment problems. According to him, in the process socialist economics as a possible solution to the less
of modernization the less developed countries have ac- developed countries because the problem was the
quired different production functions in the advanced means of production, not ownership by the capitalist
and traditional sectors. Over all, gains from the growth class. He believed that socialist economies were
of the modern sector have been increasing rather than founded on the same unsustainable basis as Western
reducing problems of development by deepening dual- economies.
ism between the limited industrial sector and the vast Schumacher was deeply impressed with the philos-
rural hinterland. In his words, ophy of Mahatma Gandhi who led the opposition
against the British rule of India. Like Gandhi, he felt
the dual economy, unless consciously counter- that Western technology would displace massive labor
acted, produces . . . a “process of mutual poison- forces from rural to urban areas without providing full
ing,” whereby successful industrial development employment. Schumacher also felt that India lacked
in the cities destroys the economic structure of the infrastructure necessary for such technology.
the hinterland, and the hinterland takes its Unlike Gandhi, however, he believed that indigenous
revenge by mass migration into the cities, poi- technology would be insufficient to improve the eco-
soning them and making them utterly unmanage- nomic conditions of rural India. Schumacher (1979,
able. (p. 158) p. 95) set his tasks to create cheap workplaces, locate
them in the rural area, employ simple production
According to Schumacher, the West has established methods, and use local materials. Instead of “capital-
large industries with advanced technology in the cities intensive” technology, he sought to employ “labor-
and staffed them with managers. These industries are a intensive” technology and lend to “small-scale” estab-
product of Western societies, which are rich in capital lishments. He believed such production methods
but short in labor; the less developed countries, on the would be biologically sound, build up soil fertility, and
other hand, are rich in labor but short in capital. These produce beauty and permanence.
industries make a limited contribution to employment This small-scale, inexpensive, labor-intensive,
in the less developed countries. Furthermore, Western compatible with human needs, and nonviolent to
technology functions differently in the less developed nature technology was named by Schumacher inter-
countries because of its different social context. For in- mediate technology.3 He founded the Intermediate6 BULLETIN OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY / MONTH YEAR
Technology Development Group (ITDG) in 1966 to nonreversible use of materials, and so forth (Dickson,
engage in the systematic study on how to help people 1975, pp. 103-104). In the 1970s and 1980s, such a
help themselves. To this day, ITDG makes the less mystifying role of alternative small-scale technology
developed countries aware of the alternatives to the had turned into a theology. People had become devo-
high technologies promoted by the West by providing tees of small-scale technology, believing that some-
technical assistance. how “the evil” and social ills in their society would be
Schumacher (1973) defined intermediate technol- destroyed with its implementation.
ogy as a “£100-technology” (p. 169). Using equipment Broadly, there are two dominant meanings for alter-
cost per workplace as a base, Schumacher called the native small-scale technology, one for industrial coun-
indigenous technology of the less developed countries tries and the other for the less developed countries. In
a “£1-technology” and the modern technology of the industrial countries, alternative small-scale technol-
Western countries a “£1000-technology.” He saw the ogy is understood as one that does not degrade the
less developed countries stagnating with £1-technology. environment, whereas in the less developed countries,
However, he believed the £1,000-technology from the it is understood as one that provides employment to
West killed off the £1-technology and left the poor ordinary people.
people of the less developed countries worse off than
before. This was mostly because the £1,000-technology Alternative Path
was expensive, complex, and dependent on high- for Industrial Nations
energy input and destroyed indigenous social and eco-
nomic structures. Schumacher proposed an alternative The industrial system of the United States alone
that was more productive than the traditional technol- consumes approximately 30% of the world’s primary
ogy and still less expensive than Western technology. resources to support its less than 6% of the world’s
Schumacher considered the intermediate technology population. With this rate of consumption, it is possi-
“vastly superior to the primitive technology of bygone ble that the world could run out of nonrenewable
ages but at the same time much simpler, cheaper, and resources in the 21st century, continuing to increase
freer than the super-technology of the rich” (p. 145). the level of pollution. The Club of Rome (1972) has
He believed that intermediate technology would pro- argued that if the current growth of population and
mote gradual development of the less developed coun- industrial consumption of natural resources continues,
tries while meeting the needs of ordinary people. the limits to growth on this planet will occur within the
next 100 years because of limited stocks of physical
Is Small Beautiful? resources. Similarly, the world’s consumption of
energy for industrial purposes has been doubling
Schumacher’s most important claim, that small- approximately once every decade since World War II.
scale technology could be the foundation of new soci- It is undeniable, as Schumacher suggested, that the
ety, needs a critical examination. He understood small- problems of industrial countries would be less severe
scale technology in dichotomous fashion. He saw if, for instance, energy production were based on using
social, economic, and political problems in a society as renewable fuels (sun, wind, and vegetation), which
being associated with modern large-scale technology; would not degrade the environment. However, the
the implementation of alternative small-scale technol- question of importance is why alternative energy tech-
ogy was seen as a panacea for all such problems. Some nologies, despite numerous advantages, do not get
of the characteristics that distinguished alternative developed on a wider scale in industrial countries. Per-
from modern technology were small scale versus large haps the answer lies in the lack of a clear vision of how
scale, inexpensive versus expensive, ecologically alternative energy technologies could be realized.
sound versus ecologically unsound, small energy Schumacher has correctly pointed out that such tech-
input versus large energy input, low pollution rate ver- nologies could develop within the framework of a new
sus high pollution rate, nonviolent to nature versus value system. But he was silent on major social and
violent to nature, decentralist versus centralist, simple political factors that are obstacles to or could promote
versus complex, labor intensive versus capital inten- the development of alternative energy technologies. It
sive, compatible with human needs versus incompati- is not enough to believe that through alternative energy
ble with human needs, reversible use of materials versus technologies, one can build society based on demo-Varma / E. F. SCHUMACHER 7 cratic and egalitarian principles; that is, alternative Schumacher was critical of large-scale energy tech- technologies can shape vested interests. In fact, vested nologies but shied away from discussing how they interests can shape alternative technologies to suit were related to the distribution of power and the exer- their own goals. cise of social control. The nature of technology devel- A national government, which could develop alter- opment in any society can best be understood by relat- native energy technologies, is not directly involved in ing technology to the patterns of general economic and the production process in the free enterprise econo- social activities that maintain the interest of the domi- mies of industrial countries. It gives concessions to pri- nant social groups in that society. vate enterprises that run, develop, and supply technol- In the past decade, however, solar and wind cells ogy on the basis of cost and profit. The government have emerged as cornerstones of the new energy econ- more or less establishes some regulations on energy, omy, even though oil and gas remain the main sources but private enterprises determine the nature of it. Alter- of energy consumption. Between 1990 and 1998, native energy technologies, therefore, can only world wind-generating capacity expanded 26% as the develop within the existing framework if it can achieve cost dropped $2,600 per kilowatt in 1981 to $800 in the goals of profit maximization. Private enterprises, 1998 (Brown, Renner, & Flavin, 2000, pp. 48-49, 52- however, have been making profits from technologies 55). Wind power has become one of the world’s cheap- that have been the source of many problems. Even with est sources of electricity. In 1998, sales of solar cells the oil crisis of 1973, “Big Seven” oil companies made that can convert sunlight into electricity jumped 21% higher profits than the pre-1973 era. For instance, (Brown et al., 2000, p. 17). Although the annual rate of Gulf’s profits in the first quarter of 1979 jumped 61%, growth has been increasing for wind and solar, it has Texaco’s 81%, and Standard Oil of Ohio’s 303% been decreasing for nonrenewable sources of energy. (Barnet, 1980, p. 26). These companies, therefore, For instance, the growth in oil use in 1998 slowed to have little incentive to switch from oil to solar or wind less than 1%. For the same period, the burning of natu- technology. ral gas increased by only 1.6%, and the nuclear power Most important, big oil companies have come to generation experienced the near zero growth rate control alternative energy technologies such as coal, (Brown et al., 2000, p. 17). Private companies such as solar, and wind to avoid competition. Before the oil British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell have been crisis of 1973, oil companies had acquired control over investing heavily in alternative energy sources. In vast quantities of nonoil energy sources. They held six 1999, Mike Bowlin, chairman and CEO of ARCO, a out of seven outstanding patents of photovoltaic cell leading U.S. oil company, acknowledged that the new areas, which convert sunlight directly into electricity. challenge was to convert the carbon-based world Shell owned Solar Energy Systems, Exxon controlled energy economy into one that was based on hydrogen Solar Power, and Arco had Solar Tech (Barnet, 1980, and other forms of energy (as cited in Brown et al., p. 103). By controlling other sources of energy sup- 2000, p. 18). plies, oil companies are able to maximize their profits The emergence of a new energy economy supports because nothing else competes with them. Schumacher’s thesis that alternative technologies can Alternative energy technologies become worth be developed within the Western system of industrial developing by oil companies if they are less expensive production. However, alternative energy technologies than oil technology. Whether the price is right for alter- have become worth developing by the fossil fuel native energy technologies depends on the price of oil. industry mostly because of the high price of oil and the Also, to maximize profit, oil companies explore the global economic slowdown. Because private enter- development of various energy resources if they are prises control both nonrenewable and alternative potentially profitable. Initially, the few alternative sources of energy, they can have both technological energy technologies that were developed due to con- developments as seasonal, depending on their long- cern shown by ecologists, environmentalists, and the term economic interest. In either case, alternative public, as well as increasing costs due to environmen- energy technologies are no longer small scale and tal legislation of the 1970s, remained more expen- decentralized; instead, such technologies are large sive than oil technology. This limited the market for scale and centralized, controlled by big private enter- solar and wind technologies (Barnet, 1980; Tanzer, prises. What Schumacher proposed to be small estab- 1974). lishments have now become large establishments.
8 BULLETIN OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY / MONTH YEAR
Alternative Path for Barnet & Muller, 1974; Goulet, 1977). This is why
Less Developed Countries they have demanded a complete transfer of modern
science and technology from multinational corpora-
The problems of the less developed countries would tions on better terms (United Nations, 1975). But the
be less severe, as Schumacher suggested, if labor- less developed countries attempting to unpack the
intensive technologies were employed that could technology have been resisted by multinational corpo-
absorb the unemployed and underemployed members rations, mostly because it threatens their control over
of the labor force. The strategy of heavy industrializa- technology, markets, and economic gains.
tion has been rather ineffective in employing the mas- It is unclear why multinational corporations would
sive labor force of the less developed countries. This is behave differently in transferring small-scale technol-
not to deny that there are some countries such as South ogies to the less developed countries than what they
Korea and Taiwan that have succeeded in increasing have done for large-scale technologies. In other words,
industrial employment and are no longer considered transfer of alternative small-scale technology from the
less developed. But less developed countries where West to the less developed countries would continue to
heavy industrialization has brought a significant lead to technological dependence of the latter.
change in the employment structure are few compared Schumacher was critical of modern technology in the
to those where it has not. less developed countries but not of the role multina-
Schumacher employed the notion of intermediate tional corporations play in the so-called transfer of
technology and advocated small-scale methods of pro- technology.
duction for the less developed countries. He believed For Schumacher, intermediate technology was the
that the West had mistakenly believed that what is one close to midway between capital-intensive tech-
good for them is also good for the less developed coun- nologies exported by the West and traditional technol-
tries. So, he suggested that the West should transfer ogies of the less developed countries on the logarith-
small-scale instead of large-scale technology. mic scale of cost. Irrespective of his intentions, it can
The transfer of technology from the West is carried be viewed that he not only promoted technological
out via the multinational (or global) corporations. The dependence of the less developed countries on the
transfer of technology from the multinational corpora- West but also gave a theoretical rationale for the sec-
tions to the less developed countries resembles leasing ondhand and outmoded technologies dumped by mul-
land under feudalism. A large part of the scientific and tinational corporations in the less developed countries.
technological knowledge that is essential for less It is not true, as Schumacher assumed, that the less
developed countries to resemble the industrialization developed countries are rejecting the Western model
of the West is not freely available to them. There are of modernization and development. Schumacher had
proprietary rights in technology in the form of patents, overemphasized the opening of a cell for alternative
trademarks, and brand names; the basic designs, blue technology in 1971 by the Ministry of Industry of the
prints, and know-how remain in the private possession government of India. It is true that it was closely fol-
of multinational corporations. Furthermore, the sup- lowed by the opening of a number of centers for
ply of technology is linked with other services and research into alternative technology in some of the
equipment. Less developed countries have to buy a leading Indian technical institutes. But needless to say,
complete industrial process with preinvestment stud- the so-called alternative technology program did not
ies, design of plant, commissioning and construction, get very far in India. Gandhian peasants in India are
start-up, and training by engineering consultants and trying their best to acquire modern industrial agricul-
machinery manufacturers. The multinational corpora- tural equipment. Far from rejecting Western technol-
tions maintain a degree of control over the continuing ogy, they are well integrated into a pattern of produc-
use of the technology even after the plant is built up tion based on chemical fertilizer, diesel- or electric-
through partial or complete ownership. Many such powered machinery, and high-yielding varieties of
contracts also involve restrictive practices such as seeds. Most important, there are many changes that
exclusive grants, challenges to validity of patents, have taken place with the introduction of large-scale
exclusive dealing, and restrictions on research. A con- technology, such as communication, electricity, elec-
sequence is that the less developed countries have been tronics, hospitals, media, and transport, with which
unable to acquire the technology they desire at the ordinary people in less developed countries are quite
right price under the right terms and conditions (see happy. Furthermore, many social practices such asVarma / E. F. SCHUMACHER 9
untouchability, widow burning, endogamy, witchcraft,
quack medicine, and so forth are put to change in the
era of large-scale technology. So, it is hard to say that
all aspects of large-scale technology are bad and all
aspects of small-scale technology are good in the less
developed countries.
Concluding Remarks
Schumacher has shown limitations of large-scale
industrialization for both industrial and less developed
countries. Both countries have accepted some princi-
ples of alternative technological development and
devoted some resources to achieve such goals.
Nonetheless, Schumacher’s antidote of small is
beautiful represented wishful thinking. First, modern
technology is many things simultaneously—including
a body of empirical knowledge, a corpus of tech-
niques, a method of cognition, and an epistemology. It
has grown and developed within the Western society
and thus carries a Western worldview. It plays both
roles—constructive and destructive—and thus cannot
be painted as oppressive per se. Second, the sources of
oppression need not lie in modern technology but per-
haps in the social structure of a society. If holders of
economic and political power use modern technology
to suit their vested interests, then the fault lies within Figure 1: E. F. Schumacher
the social structure. This is not to deny that the struggle Source: Reprinted with permission from Sophie Baker.
for emancipation from apparently oppressive modern
technology coincides with and reinforces the struggle a mathematician. Following in his father’s footsteps,
for emancipation from oppressive social structure. Schumacher studied economics. In 1930, he received a
Third, alternative paths for development are not well Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University where he
defined. For instance, there are too many qualities of earned a degree in politics, philosophy, and econom-
alternative small-scale technology. Different combi- ics. After graduating in 1932, he studied and lectured
nations of these qualities would result in an extremely economics at Columbia University. He then believed
large number, suggesting vast possibilities for alterna- that “the economist should not be bothered with
tive technological development and thus making the politics and psychology or such hybrid and pseudo-
task unmanageable. Fourth, small-scale technology science as sociology” (Wood, 1984, p. 53). He was
does not always play a constructive role from the point trained in pure economic theory, scientific reasoning,
of view of ordinary people in the less developed coun- and empiricism and had little tolerance of nonscientific
tries. To prescribe an antidote that ordinary people thoughts.
should not desire to have sophisticated technical goods In the 1930s, Europe was going through the general
or the less developed countries should not hope to economic depression. Nonetheless, Schumacher
resemble the industrialized countries is nothing more returned to Germany in 1934 to explore whether one
than an ethnocentric view. could “lead a moral life within an immoral system
without compromise” (Wood, 1984, p. 65). To see if he
Schumacher’s Life, 1911-1977 could make a living with his theoretical knowledge of
economics, he set up a consulting firm to advise
E. F. Schumacher4 was born in 1911 in Bonn, Ger- exporters on trading. As he became critical of Adolf
many. His father, Hermann Schumacher, was a profes- Hitler’s regime, Schumacher realized that he could no
sor of economics and his mother, Edith Zitelmann, was longer live in Germany. He did not want “to go under-10 BULLETIN OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY / MONTH YEAR ground and play double roles” (Harrison, 1977, p. 36). Schumacher’s plans for the reconstruction of Ger- In 1937, Schumacher immigrated with his first wife many, however, were rejected. This made him Annemarie to England. There, he started a number of extremely frustrated. “He believed that he possessed companies in the investment and banking fields. Con- resources necessary to find the key to mastering the cerned about the future of fossil fuels, he also set up a problems” (Wood, 1984, p. 142). He had little patience small company that produced battery-driven vehicles. for anyone he disagreed with. He began to question his As German aggression increased, Schumacher beliefs in economic theory, methods, logic, scientific found himself as an enemy alien on British soil. After facts, and empiricism. losing his job, he became a farm laborer in 1939. In 1950, Schumacher returned to England as an eco- Shortly after moving to the farm, however, he was nomic advisor to the National Coal Board, a position forced to enter an internment camp where he met Kurt he held for the next 20 years. Around the same time, he Naumann, a Marxist. “Poverty and plenty, oppression joined the Soil Association to get involved in organic and justice were put into a new perspective by Marx’s farming. In his countryside home, he grew his own penetrating analysis” (Wood, 1984, p. 113). Fortu- vegetables by using horse manure, compost, and crop nately, his imprisonment lasted only 3 months. Shortly rotation. He grounded his own wheat, baked his own thereafter, he moved back to the farm. For the next 4 bread, and raised his own poultry. years, he did farming with little use of chemical fertil- Rethinking his education and training in economics izers and pesticides. Also, he lived without electricity, caused him to explore history, philosophy, spiritual- gas, and water and thus experienced life without con- ism, and eastern religion. Buddhism, which preached temporary technology. nonviolence, moderation, and respect for nature, Making less than $4 a week on the farm, Schumacher enlightened him the most. Schumacher declared wrote papers to make extra money to support his fam- “good gracious, this is what I’ve been looking for” ily. Dr. John Maynard Keynes, the famous and leading (Harrison, 1977, p. 38). In 1955, he went to Burma as British economist, read Schumacher’s paper about a an economic adviser to the government and experi- new international monetary system that would speed enced the Buddhist religion in action. After 3 months, up the reconstruction of Germany. Keynes invited he returned from Burma as “a Buddhist” (Wood, 1984, Schumacher and eventually he was able to move from p. 254). Later on in his life, however, he became farming to the Oxford Institute of Statistics. Roman Catholic. He felt that “what [he] had learned In 1946, he was selected to be a member of the Brit- via Buddhism was freely offered to [him] nearer home, ish Control Commission on the reconstruction of Ger- in Christianity” (Harrison, 1977, p. 34). many. Dismayed by the destruction of Germany, In 1961, J. L. Nehru, the first prime minister of Schumacher called to liberalize the restrictions that India, invited Schumacher to be a part of the planning were cramping several industries. He believed that the commission. Schumacher recommended “intermedi- reconstruction of Germany as well as the rest of ate technology” to the Indian planning commission, Europe should be based on “large-scale state monopo- which was welcomed but not put into place. In 1966, lies” and “mass production” (Wood, 1984, p. 139). Schumacher founded the ITDG to promote alternative Being influenced by Marxist ideology and working developments of the less developed countries. with Sir William Beveridge (1945), Joan Robinson On the advice of Robert Swann, an American paci- (1956), and Richard Titmuss (1959), Schumacher fist and advocate of decentralization, Schumacher focused on imminent problems of unemployment in published a collection of his articles in book form. His Germany. He believed in the “fundamental right of every seminal book, Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if Peo- man to work and earn a living” (Wood, 1984, p. 123). ple Mattered, published in 1973, was embraced by the He also paid close attention to energy concerns environmentalists throughout the world. Twenty years because major industries depended on fuel supplies, earlier, Schumacher had predicted the approximate which was a serious issue in the economic recovery of date and nature of the energy crisis that the world faced Germany. He supported reliance on coal when others in the 1970s (Wade, 1975). The Western media paid moved toward oil and nuclear energy. He opposed close attention to his tours, and large audiences European dependence on cheap oil from the Middle attended his talks. Several high-level officers includ- East. He also was against nuclear energy due to the ing U.S. President Jimmy Carter consulted him on the hazardous nature of technology. future of industrial and postindustrial society. The
Varma / E. F. SCHUMACHER 11
book became a countercultural cult of industrial soci- Chandler, A. D. (1977). The visible hand: The managerial revolu-
eties, and Schumacher became a guru. tion in American business. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univer-
sity Press.
Schumacher died unexpectedly in 1977 in Switzer- Club of Rome. (1972). The limits to growth. New York: Universe
land when he was stricken with a heart attack. The eco- Books.
activism suffered severely from his death, resulting in Dickson, D. (1975). The politics of alternative technology. New
a decline in the press coverage and public awareness in York: Universe Books.
many Western countries. Nonetheless, Schumacher’s Gore, A. (1992). Earth in the balance: Ecology and the human
spirit. New York: Plume Edition.
philosophy of social and environmental sustainability
Goulet, D. (1977). The uncertain promise: Value conflict in tech-
is kept alive by a number of organizations, such as the nology transfer. New York: IDOC.
E. F. Schumacher Society (United States), the Harrison, P. (1977). The legacy of E. F. Schumacher. Human Be-
Schumacher Society (United Kingdom), Schumacher havior, 6, 32-39.
College, the ITDG, Resurgence Magazine, Green Robinson, J. (1956). The accumulation of capital. London:
Books, the Schumacher Books Service, New Econom- Macmillan.
Rostow, W. (1960). The stages of economic growth: A non-communist
ics Foundation, Orion Society, Second Nature, Center manifesto. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
for a New American Dream, Ithaca Hours, Local Cur- Roszak, T. (1973). Introduction. In E. F. Schumacher, Small is
rencies and Informal Credit Systems, 21st Century beautiful: Economics as if people mattered (pp. 1-9). New
Social Evolution, Thoreau Institute, Second Nature, York: Harper & Row.
the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and the Institute Schumacher, E. F. (1967). Clean air and future energy. In G. Kirk
(Ed.), Schumacher on energy: Speeches and writings of E. F.
for Sustainable Communities.
Schumacher. London: Cape. (Original work published 1982)
Schumacher, E. F. (1973). Small is beautiful: Economics as if peo-
Notes ple mattered. New York: Harper & Row.
Schumacher, E. F. (1974). The age of plenty: A Christian view. Ed-
1. Technological determinism believes that (a) the technical inburgh, Scotland: St. Andrew’s.
base of a society is the fundamental condition affecting all patterns Schumacher, E. F. (1977). A guide for the perplexed. New York:
of social existence and (b) changes in technology are the single Harper & Row.
most important sources of change in society. Schumacher, E. F. (1979). Good work. New York: Harper & Row.
2. Alfred Chandler (1977), coming from a technological deter- Tanzer, M. (1974). The energy crisis. New York: Monthly Review
ministic perspective, has shown that the properties of large-scale Press.
systems inevitably require centralized, hierarchical managerial Titmuss, R. M. (1959). Essays on the welfare state. New Haven,
control. CT: Yale University Press.
3. The idea of intermediate technology is also expressed by us- United Nation Conference on Trade and Development. (1975). An
ing terms such as soft, radical, people, democratic, indigenous, al- international code of conduct on the transfer of technology.
ternative, and appropriate technology. New York: United Nations.
4. This section relies heavily on the biography of Schumacher Wade, N. (1975). E. F. Schumacher: Cutting technology down to
by his daughter, Barbara Wood (1984). size. Science, 189, 199-201.
Wood, B. (1984). Alias papa: A life of Fritz Schumacher. New
References York: Harper & Row.
Barnet, R. J. (1980). The lean years: Politics in the age of scarcity. Roli Varma is an associate professor in the School of Public
New York: Simon & Schuster. Administration at the University of New Mexico. She has
Barnet, R. J., & Muller, R. E. (1974). Global reach: The power of published on restructuring of corporate R&D laboratories,
the multinational corporations. New York: Simon & Schuster. women and minorities in information technology, Asian
Bell, D. (1980). The winding passage. Cambridge, MA: Abt. Americans in science and engineering, and ethical issues in
Beveridge, W. H. (1945). Full employment in a free society. New science. She can be reached at varma@mgt.unm.edu.
York: Norton.
Brown, L. R., Renner, M., & Flavin, C. (2000). Vitals signs: The
trends that are shaping our future. Washington, DC: World
Watch Institute.You can also read
