BigTurtle at 19:38, 22 October 2007

2007-10-22T19:38:54Z

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In the mid-sixties, a development economist named E. F. Schumacher began promoting what he called [[Intermediate Technology]], and which came later to be called [[Appropriate Technology]].

In a 1965 article on "Social and Economic Problems calling for the Development of Intermediate Technology", Schumacher stated that in developing countries: "an Intermediate Technology would be immensely more productive than the indigenous technology (which is often in a condition of decay), but it would also be immensely cheaper than the sophisticated, highly capital-intensive technology of modern industry." Schumacher lists the advantages of intermediate technology as follows:

:The equipment would be fairly simple and therefore understandable, suitable for maintenance and repair on the spot. Simple equipment is normally far less dependent on raw materials of great purity or exact specifications, and much more adaptable to market fluctuation than highly sophisticated equipment. Men are more easily trained; supervision, control and organisation are simpler; and there is far less vulnerability to unforeseen difficulties.

This article later appeared in Schumacher's celebrated book [[Small is Beautiful]], which was not published until 1973, the same year as [[Ivan Illich]]'s book [[Tools for Conviviality]]. These two books are often cited together as being kindred volumes.

==References==
*E.F. Schumacher, [[Small is Beautiful]] (1973)

==Links==
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Schumacher
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appropriate_technology
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Is_Beautiful

[[Category:Historical Roots]]
[[Category:Appropriate Technology]]

E.F. Schumacher - Revision history

BigTurtle at 19:38, 22 October 2007