He wrote that "[e]lite professional groups ... have come to exert a 'radical monopoly' on such basic human activities as health, agriculture, home-building, and learning, leading to a 'war on subsistence' that robs peasant societies of their vital skills and know-how. The result of much economic development is very often not human flourishing but 'modernized poverty', dependency, and an out-of-control system in which the humans become worn-down mechanical parts."[13] Illich proposed that we should "invert the present deep structure of tools" in order to "give people tools that guarantee their right to work with independent efficiency."[34]

the need to develop new instruments for the reconquest of practical knowledge by the average citizen.

Particularly striking in 1971 was his call for advanced technology to support "learning webs": The operation of a peer-matching network would be simple. The user would identify himself by name and address and describe the activity for which he sought a peer. A computer would send him back the names and addresses of all those who had inserted the same description. It is amazing that such a simple utility has never been used on a broad scale for publicly valued activity.

His first book, Deschooling Society, published in 1971, was a groundbreaking critique of compulsory mass education. He argued the oppressive structure of the school system could not be reformed. It must be dismantled in order to free humanity from the crippling effects of the institutionalization of all of life. He went on to critique modern mass medicine. In the pre-Internet age, Illich was highly influential among intellectuals and academics. He became known worldwide for his progressive polemics about how human culture could be preserved and expand, activity expressive of truly human values, in the face of multiple thundering forces of de-humanization.

No hay personas sin interés. Sus destinos son como la crónica de los planetas. Nada en ellos deja de ser peculiar y los planetas son distintos unos y otros. Necesitamos un nombre para aquellos que aman la tierra en la que podemos encontrarnos unos con otros, Y si un hombre viviese en la oscuridad haciendo amistades en esa oscuridad, la oscuridad no carecería de interés. Necesitamos un nombre para aquellos que colaboran con su hermano Prometeo en alumbrar el fuego y en dar forma al hierro, pero que lo hacen para acrecentar así su capacidad de entender y cuidar y ser guardián del prójimo, sabiendo que para cada cual su mundo es privado, y en ese mundo la maravilla de un minuto, y en ese mundo lo trágico de un minuto, que son mis propios bienes.

evocando al ángel de la historia de Benjamin, que se dirige hacia el presente teniendo los ojos fijos en el pasado, él se compara más bien a un cangrejo, que se dirige hacia el pasado fijando la mirada en el presente.

Se podría llamar «teorema del caracol» el ejemplo con el cual Illich ilustra icásticamente esta contraproductividad: el caracol, después de haber sumado un cierto número de espiras a su concha, interrumpe su actividad; si continuara, una sola espira más aumentaría 16 veces el peso y el volumen a transportar.

risque de pensée unique

The man who knows that nothing in demand is out of production soon expects that nothing produced can be out of demand.

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