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Small Is Beautifull Une Société À La Mesure De L'homme

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Small Is Beautifull Une Société À La Mesure De L'homme Small is beautifull Une société à la mesure de l'homme EF Schumacher Table des matières Le monde moderne...............................................................................................................1 1 Le problème de la production ......................................................................................3 2 Paix et pérennité ........................................................................................................11 3 Le rôle de l'économie.................................................................................................25 4 Le système d'économie bouddhiste............................................................................35 5 Une question de taille ................................................................................................43 Ressources..........................................................................................................................53 6 La ressource première : l'éducation ...........................................................................55 7 De la bonne utilisation de la terre ..............................................................................73 8 Ressources pour l'industrie ........................................................................................85 9 L' énergie nucléaire : salut ou damnation ? ...............................................................97 10 Une technologie à visage humain ..........................................................................107 Le tiers monde..................................................................................................................117 11 Développement ......................................................................................................119 12 Aspects sociaux et économiques exigeant le développement d’une technologie de niveau moyen..............................................................................................................125 13 Deux millions de villages ......................................................................................139 14 Le problème du chômage en Inde .........................................................................151 Organisation et propriété .................................................................................................163 15 Une machine à prédire l'avenir? ............................................................................165 16 Ébauche d'une théorie de la grande organisation ..................................................179 17 Socialisme .............................................................................................................189 18 Propriété ................................................................................................................195 19 Nouveaux modes de propriété ...............................................................................203 Épilogue ..........................................................................................................................219 Notes et références ..........................................................................................................225 Le monde moderne 3 Le problème de la production 1 Le problème de la production Une des erreurs fatales de notre temps est de croire résolu le problème de la production. Non seulement cette croyance est fermement défendue par ceux qui ne sont guère familiers avec des activités de production, et n’ont donc aucune expérience professionnelle en ce domaine, mais elle est aussi soutenue par la quasi-totalité des experts, des capitaines de l’industrie, des dirigeants économiques dans les gouvernements, des économistes académiques comme de ceux qui ne le sont guère, sans mentionner les journalistes économiques. Il leur arrive d’avoir des vues divergentes sur beaucoup de points, mais ils s’accordent tous à déclarer résolu le problème de la production. Selon eux, l’âge d’or de l’humanité est enfin arrivé. Pour les pays riches, la tâche la plus importante est maintenant 1’ « éducation des loisirs » et, pour les pays pauvres, le « transfert des technologies ». Si les choses ne vont pas aussi bien qu’elles le devraient, il faut s’en prendre à la méchanceté des hommes. Nous devons donc construire un système politique si parfait que la méchanceté humaine disparaisse et que chacun se conduise bien, quelle que soit la dose de méchanceté en lui. En fait, une thèse largement répandue veut que chacun soit né bon. Si l’on devient criminel ou exploiteur, la faute en revient au « système ». Il ne fait aucun doute que « le système » soit mauvais sur bien des points et qu’il doive être changé. Mais qu’il puisse survivre encore malgré ses défauts vient surtout de ce que l’on croit à tort avoir résolu le « problème de la production ». Comme cette erreur imprègne tous les systèmes d’aujourd’hui, cela ne vaut guère la peine de choisir entre eux à l’heure actuelle. La naissance de cette erreur, si remarquable et si fermement enracinée, est étroitement liée aux changements philosophiques, pour ne pas dire religieux, survenus au cours des trois ou quatre derniers siècles dans l’attitude de l’homme vis-à-vis de la nature. Je devrais peut-être dire attitude « occidentale » de l’homme envers la nature. Mais comme le monde entier se trouve maintenant engagé dans un processus d’occidentalisation, une affirmation plus générale paraît justifiée. L’homme moderne ne se conçoit pas lui-même comme partie intégrante de la nature mais comme une force extérieure, destinée à dominer et conquérir celle-ci. Il parle même de combat contre la nature, en oubliant que, s’il venait à gagner ce combat, il se retrouverait du côté du perdant. Jusqu’à ces dernières années, le combat semblait se dérouler assez bien pour lui donner l’illusion de pouvoirs illimités, mais pas tout à fait assez bien pour lui faire entrevoir la possibilité d’une victoire totale. Une telle victoire se dessine maintenant et beaucoup de gens, excepté une faible minorité, commencent à se rendre compte de ce que cela signifie pour l’avenir de l’humanité. Le monde moderne 4 L’illusion d’avoir des pouvoirs illimités, entretenue par des réalisations scientifiques et technologiques étonnantes, en a fait naître une seconde, associée à la première : celle d’avoir résolu le problème de la production. Cette dernière illusion repose sur le refus de distinguer entre revenu et capital là où cette distinction est la plus importante. Tout économiste ou tout homme d’affaires connaît bien une telle distinction et l’applique consciencieusement, avec beaucoup de finesse, à n’importe quelle affaire économique, sauf quand il le faudrait vraiment, c’est-à-dire à propos du capital irremplaçable que l’homme n’a pas fabriqué mais simplement trouvé, et sans lequel il ne peut rien faire. Un homme d’affaires ne considérerait pas qu’une firme a résolu ses problèmes de production et qu’elle est devenue viable s’il la voyait user rapidement son capital. Comment, dans ces conditions, ignorer ce fait essentiel lorsqu’il est question de cette grande entreprise qu’est l’économie du vaisseau spatial Terre et, en particulier, des économies de ses riches passagers ? Il faut voir une des raisons de cette négligence dans notre détachement à l’égard de la réalité et notre inclination à considérer comme sans valeur tout ce que nous n’avons pas fait nous-mêmes. Le grand Marx lui-même a été victime de cette erreur dévastatrice lorsqu’il formula sa « théorie de la valeur ». Nous avons certes peiné pour acquérir une partie du capital qui nous aide aujourd’hui à produire : un vaste fonds de connaissances scientifiques, technologiques ou autres, des infrastructures élaborées, une infinité d’appareils sophistiqués, etc.; mais cela ne constitue qu’une petite partie du capital total dont nous disposons. Bien plus important est le capital que nous offre la nature ! Et nous n’en prenons même pas conscience. Nous faisons actuellement un usage alarmant de ces grandes richesses. C’est pourquoi il est absurde de croire résolu le problème de la production et de fonder nos actions sur une telle confiance. Une telle erreur nous mène droit au suicide. Examinons ce « capital naturel » d’un peu plus près. Il comprend tout d’abord, et de toute évidence, les combustibles fossiles. Personne, assurément, ne niera que nous en usons comme d’un revenu en nature, bien qu’ils constituent indéniablement des biens en capital. Si nous les tenions pour tels, nous nous préoccuperions de leur conservation. Nous ferions tout ce qui est en notre pouvoir pour essayer de ralentir le rythme auquel nous les utilisons actuellement. Nous pourrions, par exemple, demander que l’argent provenant de la réalisation de ces actifs —actifs irremplaçables — soit versé à un fonds spécial, exclusivement consacré à la promotion de méthodes de production et de modes de vie qui ne dépendent que peu ou pas du tout des énergies fossiles. Voilà ce que nous devrions faire, entre autres choses, si nous considérions les combustibles fossiles comme un capital et non comme un revenu. Or nous n’en faisons rien, tout au contraire. Nous ne nous soucions pas le moins du monde de conserver nos réserves d’énergie. Nous maximisons les rythmes d’exploitation actuels au lieu de les minimiser. Et, loin de nous pencher sur les possibilités d’autres méthodes de production et d’autres modes de vie pour éviter la catastrophe à laquelle nous courons de plus en plus vite, nous parlons de progrès illimité, 5 Le problème de la production d’« éducation des loisirs » dans les
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