The real problems of our planet are not economic or technical, they are philosophical. The philosophy of unbridled materialism is being challenged by events.
E. F. SchumacherRead
The heart of the matter, as I see it, is the stark fact that world poverty is primarily a problem of two million villages, and thus a problem of two thousand million villagers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
World poverty is rooted in the struggles of individual villages and their populations.
E. F. Schumacher emphasizes that the issue of global poverty is not just a statistic but a complex problem deeply embedded in the conditions of millions of villages and their inhabitants. By focusing on these smaller, localized communities, we can better understand the magnitude of the challenge and perhaps identify solutions that are tailored to their specific needs.
Themes
PovertyVillagesCommunitiesSocial IssuesDevelopment
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on global development, one might say, 'As E. F. Schumacher pointed out, the heart of the matter lies in the realities of our villages.'
More from E. F. Schumacher
All quotes →The substance of man cannot be measured by Gross National Product.
E. F. SchumacherRead
The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is.
E. F. SchumacherRead
By means of trees, wildlife could be conserved, pollution decreased, and the beauty of our landscapes enhanced. This is the way, or at least one of the ways, to spiritual, moral, and cultural regeneration.
E. F. SchumacherRead
We still have to learn how to live peacefully, not only with our fellow men but also with nature and, above all, with those Higher Powers which have made nature and have made us; for, assuredly, we have not come about by accident and certainly have not made ourselves
E. F. SchumacherRead
Economic policies absorb almost the entire attention of government, and at the same time become ever more impotent. The simplest things, which only fifty years ago one could do without difficulty, cannot get done any more. The richer a society, the more impossible it become to do worthwhile things without immediate payoff.
E. F. SchumacherRead
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