When Schumacher’s original eco-bible was published in 1973, it had a profound effect on people who were ready to question mainstream economics and became a global best-seller. “Wisdom demands a new orientation of science towards the organic, the gentle, the non-violent, the elegant and the beautiful,” argues Schumacher, whose collection of essays contrasts the efficiency of large-scale industrial systems with the resilience and flexibility of smaller, decentralised models.

In challenging the paradigm of mindless economic consumption, Schumacher advocates for the concept of “enoughness” and argues that economic systems should service communities, not corporations.