Dr. E. F. Schumacher: Author of the Book Small is Beautiful

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PLOWBOY: Wait a minute. What kind of adaption are we talking about? Just how much growth have we actually experienced during the past 30 years . . . and how much is projected for the future?

SCHUMACHER: Economists generally consider the world's total consumption of steel to be a very good indicator of industrial activity. And the consumption of steel was insignificant up until about 100 years ago. Everyone in the world used only a half million tons of steel in 1870. That consumption had climbed to 100 million tons a year by 1935 . . . but it leveled off there and stayed close to that figure until the end of World War II. Then it really began to grow. By 1950 it had doubled to an annual consumption of 200 million tons, and it had trebled again to 600 million tons by 1970. This growth, of course, continues right now as we are talking and the annual consumption of steel is expected to pass one billion tons by 1980.

PLOWBOY: That's a lot of steel.

SCHUMACHER: These figures affirm a fact that is sometimes difficult to grasp and even more difficult to accept: In terms of sheer quantity, the industrial way of life is only 30 years old. In comparison with what is going on now, all the industrial activities of mankind—up to and including World War II—are as nothing. Currently, every four or five years, we produce as many manufactured goods as all of mankind produced from the dawn of history right up to 1945. We now matter of factly consume the earth's resources at a rate that is whole levels of magnitude beyond the wildest imagination of former civilizations. And we routinely double and redouble that rate of consumption.

"Don't ask for a bigger slice of the cake," we say. "Just get busy and promote our economic and industrial growth and everybody's slice will be bigger." This boosterism, as typified by Dr. Heller's and Dr. Mansholt's remarks, is now pursued with a fervor and a devotion that the older religions might well envy. Indeed, growth economics has become the religion of this age.

PLOWBOY: And yet, as we've just discussed, all this new-found wealth hasn't brought us happiness. We've flooded ourselves with a surfeit of material goods but we've most certainly found, as you said, that they leave us "in a state of discontent". At least I haven't noticed many people living the joyous lives you found in Burma 20 years ago.

SCHUMACHER: Oh there's no doubt that our neglect of the spiritual aspects of life in favor of the deification of material goods has eaten into our very substance. By so single-mindedly cultivating an ever-expanding greed and envy, we have debased ourselves. We have made our lives far less than they could be. We have destroyed our intelligence, happiness, and serenity.

And we've done more. We have also debased the living environment of this earth. We've used its air, water, and soil as sewers. Turned the land upside down. Wantonly wiped away entire species of plants and animals. Our scientists and technologists have learned to compound substances unknown to nature. And precisely because they have no natural enemies, these compounds—once released—tend to accumulate into extremely dangerous and lethal concentrations. As a result of all this, the living environment—upon which human life is absolutely dependent—everywhere aches and groans and shows signs of partial breakdown.

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