The real problems of our planet are not economic or technical, they are philosophical. The philosophy of unbridled materialism is being challenged by events.
E. F. SchumacherRead
Man's needs are infinite, and infinitude can be achieved only in the spiritual realm, never in the material.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True fulfillment comes from spiritual wealth rather than material possessions.
E. F. Schumacher emphasizes that while human desires may seem endless, genuine satisfaction and completeness can only be found in spiritual pursuits, highlighting the limitations of material wealth in addressing the deeper needs of the human soul.
Themes
SpiritualityMaterialismFulfillmentNeedsPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on personal development, this quote could be used to underline the importance of inner growth.
More from E. F. Schumacher
All quotes βThe substance of man cannot be measured by Gross National Product.
E. F. SchumacherRead
The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is.
E. F. SchumacherRead
By means of trees, wildlife could be conserved, pollution decreased, and the beauty of our landscapes enhanced. This is the way, or at least one of the ways, to spiritual, moral, and cultural regeneration.
E. F. SchumacherRead
We still have to learn how to live peacefully, not only with our fellow men but also with nature and, above all, with those Higher Powers which have made nature and have made us; for, assuredly, we have not come about by accident and certainly have not made ourselves
E. F. SchumacherRead
The heart of the matter, as I see it, is the stark fact that world poverty is primarily a problem of two million villages, and thus a problem of two thousand million villagers.
E. F. SchumacherRead
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If God seems to be in no hurry to make the problem of evil go away, maybe we shouldn't be, either. Maybe our compulsion to wash God's hands for him is a service he doesn't appreciate. Maybe - all theodicies and nearly all theologians to the contrary - evil is where we meet God. Maybe he isn't bothered by showing up dirty for his dates with creation. Maybe - just maybe - if we ever solved the problem, we'd have talked ourselves out of a lover.
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If you're automatically sure that you know what reality is and who and what is really important - if you want to operate on your default-setting - then you, like me, will not consider possibilities that aren't pointless and annoying.
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If a man can permanently establish his awareness in contact with that pure field (of consciousness), then problems wither away. It's a very simple thing. When the light comes, then where is the darkness?
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The blues arenβt pessimistic. Weβre prisoners of hope but we tell the truth and the truth is dark.
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The fact is that liberty, in any true sense, is a concept that lies quite beyond the reach of the inferior man's mind. And no wonder, for genuine liberty demands of its votaries a quality he lacks completely, and that is courage. The man who loves it must be willing to fight for it; blood, said Jefferson, is its natural manure. Liberty means self-reliance, it means resolution, it means the capacity for doing without . . . the average man doesn't want to be free. He wants to be safe.
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The ox suffers, the cart complains.
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