Abstract

Must Britain sink from riches to rags in two generations? Must we pursue indiscriminate growth through unlimited consumption? The essential purpose of economic development and discriminating growth should be to enable all people to live fulfilled lives, and that objective can only be achieved through appropriate technologies, institutions and legislation. This book’s message is hopeful: it is about the ‘real economy’ of a rapidly increasing world population, of limited and maldistributed resources that are in many instances non-renewable – and a world of people with an amazing range of skills, talents and needs. As Though People Mattered tells what is actually happening today, in Britain, in the move towards a sustainable world of strong local communities, abundant small-scale enterprise and the ‘conserver’ society. Small is happening! First published in 1986, this revised limited edition has been commissioned to highlight the continuing relevance of the central message of this book.