Aurelio Peccei

Aurelio Peccei (1908-1984), wiki "was an Italian scholar and industrialist who founded the Club of Rome in 1968. A member of the Italian resistance during World War II, in 1944 he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured. After the war he became chairman of Fiat and President of Olivetti, while also being active in organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, Friends of the Earth and the International Ocean Institute."

"Aurelio Peccei was born in a dynamic decade. At the beginning of the 20th century man had conquered the air with planes and zeppelins and the first European capitals had constructed metro lines. There was the spirit of progress in the heart and minds of people and it was not until 1972, when "Limits to Growth" was published as the first report to the Club of Rome, that a public discussion started on the question as to whether mankind was moving towards a disaster even in the absence of unrest and war.

"Peccei started his career in industry, so he was at the heart of the progress of that time. But in contrast to others who followed a similar path, he looked beyond his everyday business and became concerned about the future.

"By accident, Aurelio Peccei met a scientist, Alexander King, who shared his thoughts. They invited a group of people for a discussion in Rome which finally resulted in the founding of the "Club of Rome".

"The Club of Rome decided to use a scientific approach in order to find out, which scenarios were possible for the future. Donnella Meadows, Dennis Meadows and Jorgen Randers were three young researchers at MIT who developed a mathematical world model. The scenarios showed clearly that if we continue "business as usual" we will end in a disaster. The result was published as "Limits to Growth", a book which was translated to more than 30 languages."

"In 1964 he was asked to manage Olivetti. This large and established firm, which had been at the forefront in the development of typewriters and other office machines, was also well known for its internal social policies and for supporting the links between industry and culture. Olivetti was in significant difficulties at that time due to the profound changes in the office machine sector. Peccei, with his foresight and his entrepreneurial vision, as well as his strong belief that the human potential can be the key to change, was able to successfully turn Olivetti’s situation around in this instance.

"Peccei began to seriously worry about global problems, particularly in the area of the environment. He became involved in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as a member of its International Board, and was a strong supporter of their mission, not only internationally but also locally in Italy.

"In 1969 ‘The Chasm Ahead’ was published. The book illuminates clearly the principles which became the vision of the Club of Rome."

His son is Roberto D. Peccei.

Affiliations

 * Cofounder, Club of Budapest
 * Winner of the 1979 Lindbergh Award

Background

 * 1963–1974	ADELA (Atlantic Community Development Group for Latin America)
 * 1964–1967	Managing Director, Olivetti
 * 1966–1984	IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria).
 * 1968–1984	Club of Rome.
 * 14 March 1984	Aurelio Peccei died.

Biographies

 * Crusader for the Future: A Portrait of Aurelio Peccei, Founder of the Club of Rome (Gunter Pauli) Pergamon (1987)
 * Short Biography of Aurelio Peccei, in “Development in a World of Peace”, Club of Rome Bogota Conference Report, published by Banco Central Hipotecario (1984)

Books

 * Aurelio Peccei and Daisaku Ikeda, Before it is Too Late: A Dialogue: Echoes and Reflections (I.B. Tauris, November 2008).

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * Barbara Ward
 * Fondazione Aurelio Peccei
 * Orio Giarini