Small is Beautiful by E. F. Schumacher

Schumacher defines land as including not only the soil, but also the living things (plants and animals taken together), human beings, water and air which combined make up nature. Land is not made by man and once its properties are destroyed through clear cutting, over cultivation, overgrazing or other means, it is not easily renewable. There is a finite supply of land; additional land cannot be created. Schumacher suggests that civilizations have fallen because of land mismanagement, a fact which he laments is lost on many historians.

Schumacher finds that human beings have an obligation to the land and the animals on the land which is nothing less than noblesse oblige. Adam and Eve were given dominion over the earth to "dress it and keep it," not to tyrannize it. To this end, Schumacher calls for the ethical treatment of animals us

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bling to Schumacher, is the idea that agriculture for Mansholt is just another "industry." It is subject to the same measurements and analysis as any industry, with the same pressure to produce short-term results. This view of agriculture is, to Schumacher, fundamentally flawed. Agriculture is unique because land is unique and not subject to the same analysis as are other factors of production. Until analysts are able to make that distinction and use their talents to view agriculture as an entity fundamentally different from industry, the same mistakes regarding land management, including the exploitation and destruction of land, will continue to occur. In his essay, "Against All Odds: The Struggle for Workplace Democracy in the Third World," Mieke Meurs supports Schumacher's idea that land and land use provides a unique opportunity for economic and social prosperity. According to Meurs, farming cooperatives which have been tried in developing countries produce economic and social benefits which are not otherwise realized in these economies. Problems occur when central bureaucracies attempt to impose central planning on these cooperatives. The goals of the central planners can be at odds with the goals and objectives
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Approximate Word count = 2527
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)