About the Book
Humanity started small. Where did we get the idea big is better? The establishment promote big business, big government or big culture, more often than not, all three. In Small is Powerful Adam Lent reveals how our faith in big was manufactured in the 1900s – by a group of powerful business leaders, politicians and thinkers –and gripped the collective imagination throughout the twentieth century. But the notion that vast concentrations of power should reside in the state, in corporations, or the church has failed to create a stable, fairer world. In Small is Powerful, Lent challenges this failure of imagination and asks us to consider a world where ownership, power and resources are dispersed on a smaller scale, in way that is better for everyone. He explores the roots of the 'small revolution' in the 1970s, and demonstrates how, contrary to received wisdom, this movement is intensifying today. Millions are setting up their own small businesses; political and social change is increasingly delivered by grassroots initiatives; and people are making their own decisions about how to live their lives. Small is Powerful delivers an informed and impassioned plea to stand up and fight for the fairer, wealthier and more stable world we want. It is an impassioned plea for 'smallists' everywhere to stand up and be counted.
About the Author
Adam Lent is the Director of the RSA's Action and Research Centre (ARC). The RSA encourages creativity in business, education and public services and is world famous for its RSA Animate series. ARC publishes over forty reports a year, hundreds of blogs and tests numerous innovations for the RSA. Before joining the RSA, Adam was Head of Economics at the UK's Trades Union Congress. Adam writes a widely-read blog for the RSA and has written many newspaper, online and journal articles over the years on everything from the future of coal to the very slow death of political parties.