Kirkpatrick Sale on E.F. Schumacher's Economics

Of E. F. Schumacher's most famous essay, Buddhist Economics, Kirkpatrick Sale reminds us that "he never did work it out as an eight-fold path as the Buddha had done" and has attempted to do so for us — Buddhist Economics: The Eight-Fold Path.

Let us remember what the man himself said: "I might have called it 'Christian Economics' but then no one would have read it" — Schumacherian Catholic Wisdom. Charles Fager explained in 1977 — Small Is Beautiful, and So Is Rome: Surprising Faith of E.F. Schumacher:

He readily owned up to being a Catholic, a certified convert as of five years ago. This item is not mentioned in his book; in fact, one of the most frequently cited chapters, “Buddhist Economics,” almost made it appear as if he were deeply involved in Eastern religions. But wasn’t this chapter, I inquired, really more informed by the Catholic writings and thinkers he mentioned so frequently elsewhere in the book -- the papal encyclicals, Newman, Gilson and, above all, Thomas Aquinas?

Schumacher grinned. “Of course. But if I had called the chapter ‘Christian Economics,’ nobody would have paid any attention!”

This is not to say that the reference to Buddhism was a sham; he is firmly convinced that the basic elements of a common religious outlook are to be found in all the world’s major religions. But it was done artfully, to help get his message across. “You see, most people in the West are suffering from what I call an anti-Christian trauma,” he explained, “and I don’t blame them. I went through that for 20 years myself.”