© Mila Nayda 2020

The Times Literary

Supplement ranked
Small Is Beautiful
among the 100 most
influential books
published since
World War II.
Outline:

1.Problem of Production
1.1Economic development
1.2 GDP
1.3 Role of technological progress
1.4 Problems with GDP calculation
2 Peace and permanence
2.1 Wealth as a way to achieve peace
2.2 A world based on wisdom
2.3 Achieving wisdom
2.4 Achieving happiness
1.1 Economic
development
- the indicator of countries wealness is
economic growth

- economic growth is measured by GDP

1.2 GDP

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a

monetary measure of the market value of
all the final goods and services produced
in a specific time period.
- the GDP growth rate measures how
fast the economy is growing

- the volume of production is an

indicator of economic growth
1.3 The Role of
technological progress
- technological progress contributes to
more efficient production

- with new scientific discoveries or

invention of new technologies, we can
increase production (and GDP too)
1.4 Problems with GDP
calculation
- there are several ways to calculate GDP:
- the fact is, that it doesn't take into
account different factors

- one of them, for example, is the

environmental problem

- environmental quality and economic

growth are two goals that contradict each
other
The Trade Off between Economic
Output and Environmental Protection

Each society will have to weigh

its own values and decide
whether it prefers a choice like P
with more economic output and
less environmental protection,
or a choice like T with more
environmental protection and
less economic output.
- the problem is that environmental
reserves are not seen as capital

- it was that capital that had made it possible

for us to achieve the development progress
we have now

- if we are going to continue to use our

original resources as much as we do now,
eventually we will lose more than we win
The majority of Society lives in
illusion. This illusion is mainly related
to our inability to realize that the
modern industrial system, with all its
intellectual sophistication, consumes
the same base on which it was built.
2.1 Wealth as a way to
achieve peace
- the modern belief is the all-round
development would be the strongest base for
peace

- poverty is the cause of confrontations and

conflicts

- and if everyone achieves wealth, it will form

the base of peace
- there is no need to pay much attention to
moral standards and ethics

- selfish motives will always accompany

the way to wealth

- and it can’t be avoided

- this development path faces a
conflict of limited resources

- because as long as poor people

achieve peace, the greed of
rich people can lead to
resource extermination and
price increases
That attitude means that richness is the
only thing that matters
- materialism doesn’t fit into this world,
because it doesn’t contain any limited
principle

- while the environment is limited

The idea of infinite growth, until everyone
reaches happiness, is doubtful.
2.2 A peace based on wisdom
- the problem with the current
system is that it’s based on such
desires like greed and envy

- wisdom lacks from the beginning

Scientific or technological "solutions" that
poison the environment or destroy the
social structure and the human being
himself are not beneficial, no matter how
brilliantly they are.
They are the antithesis of wisdom
The achievement of peace must be
based on wisdom.
- from an economic point of view, the
central concept of wisdom is constancy

- we must learn the economic of constancy

- nothing can be permanent (or has an

economic meaning) if it is absurd on the
long terms
- infinite material growth is impossible

- growing and expanding needs are the

antithesis of wisdom
2.3 Achieving wisdom

What is

wisdom?
Wisdom is a state of seeing
things the way they
really are
So there's economic growth. And that
growth is based on willing of people to get
everething they want, no matter what it
cost. On the one hand, someone achieves
wealth . But on the other hand there are a
lot of conflicts regarding environmental,
wars and other numerous disasters .
In other words, it is necessary to consider
the current situation from both sides.
2.4 Achieving happiness

Sometimes you need to go through

madness to find your true self
- there is the formula for happiness

happiness =
human possibilities /
needs

The happiness is just all human

possibilities divided by human needs.
- the more opportunities you have for
your wishes come true, the happier
you are

- however, a decrease of wishes also

leads to more happiness
We need to reduce destructive desires such as:

and increase the consciousness of altruism.

This is the way to achieve wisdom.
- environmental problems and wars
are not a surprise

- this is the logical outcome,

considered that the current system is
based on peoples greed, envy etc.
- we can eliminate external symptoms

- however, they only give a temporary result

-to remedy the sickness completely, we need to

restore the original wisdom that was lost

- if we manage to change our intentions, and

set the right priorities, there will be a hope for
situation to be changed
- technology can help us achieve our great
goals
- the external resources of the Earth and the
individual are limited

- but a person's potential has no limits

- so, if we try to increase the potential inside of

us, we can find unlimited happiness, which
doesn’t depend on external changes or
conditions
Thank you
Sources:
E.F Schumacher - “Small is beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered”,
https://www.ee.iitb.ac.in/student/~pdarshan/SmallIsBeautifulSchumacher.pdf

Paul A. Samuelson, William D. Nordhausen - “Economics”; https://www.amazon.de/Economics-Paul-Anthony-

Samuelson/dp/0071263837

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-02/gdp-flawed-and-out-of-date-why-still-use-it/9821402;

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/gdp-is-destroying-the-planet-heres-an-alternative/;

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-gdp-fails-as-a-measure-of-well-being/;

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