Meta-economics, scale and contemporary social theory: Re-reading E. F. Schumacher's Small is Beautiful

In this article, we argue that E. F. Schumacher's Small is Beautiful offers important insights for contemporary social theory. In particular, we focus on the merits of his use of 'meta-economics' and of 'scale' as a means for advancing ecological social critique. While we are sympathetic to Schumacher's approach, we are mindful of the limitations to his theoretical imagination and commence our article acknowledging his partisan metaphysics and his insensitivity to global political dynamics. To resolve this, we demonstrate that the central critical insights Schumacher provides can be substantially extricated from these problems. Our task here, therefore, is a critical reconstruction of Schumacher's approach to social-ecological critique, which we claim offers the potential to shape contemporary social theory, both within and beyond critical political ecology.

Automated summary

This article argues that E.F. Schumacher's Small is Beautiful provides important insights for contemporary social theory, particularly his use of 'meta-economics' and 'scale' for advancing ecological social critique. While acknowledging the limitations of his theoretical imagination, the author demonstrates that the central critical insights Schumacher provides can be extricated from these problems.