ABSTRACT
Dartington, like any other village, needed the wider choice of jobs that only industry in conjunction with agriculture could offer. Full employment meant that purchasing power was maintained and with that markets for the products of industry, including Dartington’s. But the conditions for Dartington departments became tougher all the same. The Elmhirsts wanted to achieve efficiency for the sake of a higher standard of life, and also to incorporate the humanity which seemed so often to be forfeit in modern industry. The Elmhirsts were persuaded, and rightly, that in one vital respect Dartington lacked management skills, that is in marketing. The Elmhirsts hit on a crucial defect without going far enough, even with marketing management, let alone with the more crucial general management that Dartington lacked until after the war. There were also some setbacks to the general economy, and even, temporarily, to full employment, which were also setbacks for Dartington.
