MOST people know of E. F. Schumacher (1911–1977) from his best-selling 1973 work, Small is Beautiful, which advocates a form of social and economic decentralisation as a committed response to large-scale industrialisation, invasive technology and sweeping globalisation. 'Fritz,' as he was more affectionately known, was deeply inspired by the distributist ideas of G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, becoming a firm opponent of capitalism and modernity. In 1955, Schumacher travelled to Burma to develop his theory of 'Buddhist economics' and as a professional energy advisor and President of the organic farming group, The Soil Association, the German was able to use his position to influence some of the leading economists of the day. In the present work, Troy Southgate examines the spiritual and philosophical concepts that Schumacher espoused shortly before his untimely death in September 1977. Having rejected his former atheism and set out on the path of the seeker, Schumacher - who had explored the Traditionalist School - took his lead from saints, mystics and theologians such as Thomas Aquinas, George Gurdjieff, René Guénon, A.K. Coomaraswamy, Jacques Maritain, Maurice Nicoll and Etienne Gilson. This book, overflowing with Schumacher's great energy and wisdom, will enable you to look at the world through new eyes.
