On the 20th of June, we are bringing together a number of organisations and individuals inspired by E.F. Schumacher to share how his work has shaped practical action for sustainable change. Learn more about Adam Lent, who will be sharing thoughts from his upcoming book Small is Powerful: Why the era of big government, big business and big culture is over (and why it’s a good thing). (Due for publication in late 2015). It is his book title that inspired the conference.
Register for Small is Powerful – E.F. Schumacher’s ideas in the 21st century via Eventbrite.
Adam Lent is European Director of Research and Innovation at Ashoka, a global network of social entrepreneurs. He was formally the Director of the RSA’s Action and Research Centre.
Before joining the RSA, Adam was Head of Economics at the UK’s Trades Union Congress. That job might lead you to think that Adam has a history as a left-leaning activist, political adviser and writer. You wouldn’t be wrong but since the 2008 Crash, he has found himself increasingly frustrated by all points on the political spectrum.
It was that frustration that led him to start the research for Small is Powerful. His talk on the 20th of June will explore his research for this book and is titled: The Schumacher Contradiction – The battle between small and big in the 21st century.
He says: “E.F.Schumacher saw human scale technology as the key to a fairer, more innovative and fulfilled world. Since his death in 1977, technology has been transformed unleashing great waves of creativity and enterprise just as Schumacher foresaw. And yet the small is beautiful revolution for which he worked seems barely to have begun with big business, big government and the inequalities of wealth and power they represent still driving our world. Is this a sign of failure or is it a coming battle for the future? How can we speed up the transition to the world for which E.F. Schumacher strived?”
Adam has also written a widely read blog for the RSA and has written (and ghost written) many newspaper, on-line and journal articles over the years on everything from the future of coal to the very slow death of political parties.