Manfred Max-Neef is a Chilean economist who has gained an international reputation for his work on development alternatives, especially relating to the third world and to the idea of stimulating self-reliance and satifying our fundamental human needs.

His work has relevance far beyond the third world in the way he teaches us to use the qualified satisfaction of our needs to improve our selves and reduce our stress.

Of his many works, probably the best known is his book titled "Human Scale Development" published in 1987, he outlines a new development paradigm based on a revaluation of human needs.

In addition to a long academic career in the USA and for the UN he has also gained notoriety as a candidate in the Chilean presidential election in 1993 where he achieved an impressive minority before being appointed as Rector to the Unviersidad Austral de Chile in Valdivia.

You can find out more about has work on our
Human Scale Development page
or via our
links page