"An attitude to life which seeks fulfillment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth - in short, materialism - does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle, while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited"

This quote by E. F. Schumacher is a warning versus materialism. He is stating that a life focused solely on the pursuit of wealth is not sustainable in the long run. This is because materialism has no boundaries or limits, while the environment in which it exists is finite and restricted. This means that if one continues to pursue wealth without any regard for the environment, it will ultimately lead to depletion of resources and damage of the environment. Therefore, Schumacher is suggesting that a more well balanced technique to life is needed, one that takes into consideration the limitations of the environment and works within them. This means that rather of focusing exclusively on the pursuit of wealth, one need to also consider the effect of their actions on the environment and aim to discover a balance between the two.