Humanist economics #1: what's out there?

As part of my new series on Humanist economics, which we can broadly define as the study of the economic impact of threats/opportunities to human needs, a good place to start is a broad review of what has been written to date.

Wikipedia defines 'Humanistic economics' as a 'persons-first' set of adjustments to economic theory and practice, prioritizing people over profits.  It is also specifically concerned with how the economic discipline defines people, which they see as more complex.  

E.F. Schumacher

Beyond definitions, there appears to be a few suggestions regarding the history of these ideas.  One suggestion is Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher (1973) as an appropriate starting point.  The available summary of this book appears highly practical, with less focus on theoretical arguments and more emphasis on his perceived threats to humanity and suggestions on what various societies should prioritize.  

Schumacher the person is an interesting topic as well.  Schumacher was born in Germany, raised in England, and educated at the best schools between England and the US.  Over fears of their German heritage, Schumacher was interned in England, but released on the advice of famed economist J.M. Keynes after they read some of Schumacher's research papers.  Upon their release, Schumacher provided research for the war effort, worked at Oxford University, and later for the UK government in its efforts to rebuild post-war Germany.  Their longest stint may have been as the Chief Economic Advisor of the National Coal Board from 1950-1970, which oversaw the nationalized coal industry across the UK.  

As part of their duties, Schumacher appears to have been changed by their interactions with eastern countries.  They turned from the prevailing economic views that big is better (economies of scale) to an all encompassing view that Small is Beautiful.  This view, that local and sustainable self-reliance, permeated their thoughts around human development, appropriate technology, natural capital, cultural and political governance, as well as labor and firms during globalization.

Schumacher's early influences appeared to be Buddhism and Ghandism, in general, but also the anarchist economist Leopold Kohr.  Later in life, it appears that they became increasingly religious, Catholic, and interested in historical Christian writings on economic morality.  Their legacy lives on in several institutes in the UK and US, and in a biography by their daughter, Barbara Wood.

Other sources

Beyond Schumacher, a few other sources of interest rise to the surface.  University of Maine Professor Mark Lutz's Economics for the Common Good (1999) appears to be among the better collections, as it presents a history of the idea of humanist economics and thoughts on how it may impact economic theory toward what they call 'social economics'.  

Further, the Internet Archive still provides access to the now defunct www.humanisticeconomics.net.  This site suggests a wide variety of published works covering 'people first' economics.

Lastly, a simple internet search brings up a panoply of other published works.  These include: 

• a New Yorker article in 2018 focusing on how the economics discipline defines humans and the ideas of those who challenge it (and an interview with the authors, one of which who became President of Northwestern University),
• a 2021 Real World Economics Review paper by University of Bonn Professor John Komlos on the failures of mainstream economic theory and suggestions for a new research program, 
• a 2015 The Humanist article profiling Louis Kelso, their humanist writings and practical innovations to merge corporate governance and economic justice,
• a 1943 The Humanist article by radical economist Scott Nearing laying out criteria to determine if innovations are to the advancement or harm of mankind (which they called A Humanist Approach to Economics)
• a 1985 Review of Social Economy article by Anthony Scaperlanda reviewing the research program advocated by Mark Lutz,
• a 2012 Journal of Socio-Economics article by Bernard Beaudreau evaluating the humanist criticisms of mainstream economic definitions of human behavior, alternative humanist models, and suggested modifications,
• a 2011 chapter in textbook Humanism in Business by Julian Nida-Rumelin titled Philosophical Grounds of Humanism in Economics, which appears to cover where these two disciplines cross in classical Greek and Roman literature,
• and lastly a 2021 chapter in book Economics of the Pandemic by Peng Wensheng titled Humanist Economics After the Pandemic, which appears to evaluate conflicting goals of human and economic needs raised by economic shutdowns during the 2020 global pandemic.

These articles show a few threads discussed in humanist economics.  The first is on debates around the definition or historical literature that established this potential sub-discipline or practice.  The second is a theoretical evaluation of modern economic theory its models in contrast with humanist goals and holistic views of people.  The third is a practical evaluation of humanist goals considering real world economic problems.

My personal interest is the third, however each of these have contributed to a front advanced by years of concerned economists to date.