Schumacher, Fritz (1911–1977)

German-born economist and conservationist. He studied in England and the USA before becoming an economic adviser first to the British Control Commission (1946–50) and then to the National Coal Board (1950–70). He founded the Intermediate Technology Group in 1966 as a non-governmental organization to work in developing countries.

Schumacher's ideas, published in his book Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered (1973), were based on the belief that Western methods of mass production and specialization were not an appropriate vehicle for economic development in backward countries, which lacked capital and skilled personnel but had a surplus of labour.

A Rhodes scholar, Schumacher studied economics at New College, Oxford, and at Columbia University, New York. He settled in England in 1937, but like many Germans living in the UK, was interned for a time during World War II. Later, he was released into employment in organic farming, an experience that strongly influenced his later work.

At the British Control Commission he worked on theories for full employment policies and, under English economist William Henry Beveridge, on plans for the post-war social welfare policy. As a senior adviser to the National Coal Board, he worked with English management consultant Reginald Revans and strongly advocated continuing coal production while opposing the growth of nuclear power because of its waste disposal problems.

After a visit to Burma (now Myanmar) in the mid-1950s, Schumacher came to believe that if developing countries adopted modern technology, they would improve their production but not their quality of life. His principal interest was then to develop the concept of intermediate technology, which specializes in tailoring tools, small-scale machines, and methods of production to the culture and needs of individual countries. He also believed that it was less environmentally intrusive, was consistent with sustainable development, and lessened dependence on overseas aid.

Concerned with the conservation of natural resources, he was president of the Soil Association, which is involved with organic farming methods. He was also a director of the manufacturer of polymer resin Scott-Bader Company, a successful experiment in common ownership and worker's control. A student of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and a believer in non-violence, Schumacher became a sponsor of the Fourth World Movement, a British-based campaign for political decentralization and regionalism; the term came into use in 1974 to describe internationally unrecognized countries.

Schumacher's other publications include Export Policy and Full Employment (1945), Roots of Economic Growth (1962), and Good Work (1979), a collection of speeches published posthumously. He also contributed articles to The Times, The Economist, and The Observer.