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Beyond Economics and Ecology: The Radical Thought of Ivan Illich
Illich’s theories on the effectiveness of cars, air travel, and energy showed that industrial progress actually hampers the speed and effectiveness we have as people who were born capable of walking to our desired destinations. Roads, airports, stations, traffic jams, all take away the benefits of using complicated engineered methods of travel, and make our actual travel times longer.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 8, 2013
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505 people want to read
About the author
Ivan Illich
110 books469 followersIvan Illich was an Austrian philosopher, Roman Catholic priest and critic of the institutions of contemporary western culture and their effects of the provenance and practice of education, medicine, work, energy use, and economic development.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 31, 2021
Like all Illich's writing dense and thought-provoking. Not called radical for nothing, but at the same time sane and persuasive. His essay on transport is particularly interesting, making the point that all motorized transport destroys something precious. His remarks too on computers, only just appearing in his time, are remarkably precient.
September 1, 2023
This was a very thought provoking series of essays. They were simultaneously very dense and repetitive at times. It sometimes took multiple readings of a section to extract the full picture. At other points sections seemed quite repetitive, repeating ideas that had previously been fleshed out. These were my main complaints of this series of essays. The ideas within these essays were very interesting, and quite radical at times (as the title describes). I found the introduction to be quite helpful, as a way of preparing myself for some of the arguments/ideas that followed in the essays themselves.
Ivan has an interesting perspective on language that I had never considered before. There was a time when people weren't "taught" languages in schools in the same way we do today. In pre-industrial societies, language was learned by speaking to family/friends/business partners. There was a wealth of distinct vernaculars within each household, each region, each profession, etc.. He describes how advent of printing "enhanced the colonizing power of élite language" (pg. 44). The modern teaching of language has become a way of enacting power over the general populace.
The "Shadow Work" essay was equally thought provoking. A (surprisingly) large portion of modern life has become a form of shadow work, things that simply must be done to exist in modern society that don't produce value in peoples' lives. In the time of subsistence living, many of these day-to-day tasks simply weren't necessary. Some examples include housework, various activities connected with shopping, students' homework/cramming for exams, and "the toil expended commuting to and from the job". Much of this shadow work has simply become accepted as necessary for life in a modern society. Ivan describes how there was a time when wage work was looked down upon, as people simply lived their own subsistence lifestyles (with men and women each performing complementary tasks). He claims that the economic division of the sexes, and an"unprecedented antagonism between the domestic and public spheres made wage work a necessary adjunct of life" (pg. 59).
The "Energy and Equity" essay describes Ivan's theory that "high quanta of energy degrade social relations just as inevitably as they destroy the physical milieu" (pg. 73). He claims that there is a definite (and discernible) amount of energy use what will inevitably lead to inequity. He describes that "technocracy must prevail as soon as the ratio of mechanical power to metabolic energy oversteps a definite, identifiable threshold" (pg. 75). The advent of cars, and subsequently faster forms of travel have (predictably) led to greater and greater inequity. The richest are able to travel faster and faster, while the lives of the majority have been degraded over time. A society for which increasing energy consumption is treated as dogma will inevitably generate inequity. For example, once cars become more and more common, society become set up in such a way that each person requires a car to function in everyday life. The power of each person's feet has declined, and thus their freedom as well. He describes the idea of a "society-wide speed limit" which would prevent this inequity from occurring. This speed limit is simply another way of describing an energy limit. The result of this is an improved existence for the majority. He describes the dynamics of transportation as a zero-sum game, namely in peoples' time. "Beyond a certain velocity, passengers become consumers of other people's time, and accelerating vehicles become the means for effecting a net transfer of life-time" (pg. 85). An comparison he references a few times is between bicycles and cars. The cost of a bicycle (and also the cost of the infrastructure needed for bicycles) are far lower than that which is required for cars, and is thus more equitable. Ivan describes transportation as a "radical monopoly". A branch of industry has a radical monopoly "by virtue of its acquired ability to create and shape the need which it alone can satisfy" (pg 92). A society built on cars will become more and more spread out, thus requiring faster modes of transportation.
The final essay "The Social Construction of Energy" was also pretty interesting, though it was far more philosophical than the others. He goes through the history of how "energy" has been though of and defined through time. His thesis is that we have become enamored with the idea of energy. The law of the conservation of energy is (by definition) a zero-sum game, and this idea has influenced much of modern society. "Social interactions were reduced to exchanges, and subjects to role players between whom exchanges take place" (pg. 122).
All of these essays provide an interesting perspective on modern life. They are very radical and thought provoking, and are very interesting reads.
Ivan has an interesting perspective on language that I had never considered before. There was a time when people weren't "taught" languages in schools in the same way we do today. In pre-industrial societies, language was learned by speaking to family/friends/business partners. There was a wealth of distinct vernaculars within each household, each region, each profession, etc.. He describes how advent of printing "enhanced the colonizing power of élite language" (pg. 44). The modern teaching of language has become a way of enacting power over the general populace.
The "Shadow Work" essay was equally thought provoking. A (surprisingly) large portion of modern life has become a form of shadow work, things that simply must be done to exist in modern society that don't produce value in peoples' lives. In the time of subsistence living, many of these day-to-day tasks simply weren't necessary. Some examples include housework, various activities connected with shopping, students' homework/cramming for exams, and "the toil expended commuting to and from the job". Much of this shadow work has simply become accepted as necessary for life in a modern society. Ivan describes how there was a time when wage work was looked down upon, as people simply lived their own subsistence lifestyles (with men and women each performing complementary tasks). He claims that the economic division of the sexes, and an"unprecedented antagonism between the domestic and public spheres made wage work a necessary adjunct of life" (pg. 59).
The "Energy and Equity" essay describes Ivan's theory that "high quanta of energy degrade social relations just as inevitably as they destroy the physical milieu" (pg. 73). He claims that there is a definite (and discernible) amount of energy use what will inevitably lead to inequity. He describes that "technocracy must prevail as soon as the ratio of mechanical power to metabolic energy oversteps a definite, identifiable threshold" (pg. 75). The advent of cars, and subsequently faster forms of travel have (predictably) led to greater and greater inequity. The richest are able to travel faster and faster, while the lives of the majority have been degraded over time. A society for which increasing energy consumption is treated as dogma will inevitably generate inequity. For example, once cars become more and more common, society become set up in such a way that each person requires a car to function in everyday life. The power of each person's feet has declined, and thus their freedom as well. He describes the idea of a "society-wide speed limit" which would prevent this inequity from occurring. This speed limit is simply another way of describing an energy limit. The result of this is an improved existence for the majority. He describes the dynamics of transportation as a zero-sum game, namely in peoples' time. "Beyond a certain velocity, passengers become consumers of other people's time, and accelerating vehicles become the means for effecting a net transfer of life-time" (pg. 85). An comparison he references a few times is between bicycles and cars. The cost of a bicycle (and also the cost of the infrastructure needed for bicycles) are far lower than that which is required for cars, and is thus more equitable. Ivan describes transportation as a "radical monopoly". A branch of industry has a radical monopoly "by virtue of its acquired ability to create and shape the need which it alone can satisfy" (pg 92). A society built on cars will become more and more spread out, thus requiring faster modes of transportation.
The final essay "The Social Construction of Energy" was also pretty interesting, though it was far more philosophical than the others. He goes through the history of how "energy" has been though of and defined through time. His thesis is that we have become enamored with the idea of energy. The law of the conservation of energy is (by definition) a zero-sum game, and this idea has influenced much of modern society. "Social interactions were reduced to exchanges, and subjects to role players between whom exchanges take place" (pg. 122).
All of these essays provide an interesting perspective on modern life. They are very radical and thought provoking, and are very interesting reads.
March 13, 2024
This book contains 4 essays by Ivan Illich that give an insight into his thoughts and philosophy:
- The War against Subsistence
- Shadow Work
- Energy and Equity
- The Social Construction of Energy
They are arranged not necessarily in chronological order, but more in a thought-construction order, as notions mentioned in an essay are reused in the following ones.
The writing in itself is a bit tough to read, but the ideas themselves are very thought-provoking, and, as regards to my previous readings, quite original and appreciatively refreshing.
In the first essay, Illich introduces his notion of vernacular in an interesting historical analysis that goes beyond vernacular speech to the set of customs traditionally performed in smaller communities, in a short range of space and time. He goes on to analyse how the vernacular was progressively supplanted, taking the example of language, by what has now become known as mother tongue, which is anything but, as what we can consider "official language(s)" is nothing more than a prescriptive form of the elite version of the language. (there's a lot more, obviously)
In the second essay, the author talks about what he calls shadow work, that is "I do not mean badly paid work, nor unemployment; I mean unpaid work." In our day and time, we have learned to give it more consideration, especially all the "housework" - done mostly by women - as it is essential in the maintenance of our capitalist societies, but at the time Illich also included everything else related to "the reproduction of labour", as Marx would have written: for example, filling and paying taxes, feeding oneself, going to the doctor's appointment, etc. Reading this essay gives one an interesting perspective on this notion of "shadow work".
In the third essay, Illich argues that the "acceleration" that comes with modern transportation comes with a cost, both economical and social. This is a cost that is paid by all layers of society, but that benefits it differentially, as some - obviously the better financially well-endowed - can benefit more than others. Illich then develops his thoughts by arguing that the average speed at which people move is no more than a bicycle's, and that should be the limitation we should set as a society.
In his fourth essay, finally, Illich introduces a distinction between "energy" as a physics notion (which he calls "e" and is used in calculations), and "energy" as the "subtle something which has the ability to make nature do work". He looks into the history of both notions, and how they affect the present.
Overall, the book was, as stated, not that easy to read despite its short length, but the thoughts are refreshingly radical, and do allow for some very interesting insights, so I'd give it 4.5 stars, rounded up :o)
- The War against Subsistence
- Shadow Work
- Energy and Equity
- The Social Construction of Energy
They are arranged not necessarily in chronological order, but more in a thought-construction order, as notions mentioned in an essay are reused in the following ones.
The writing in itself is a bit tough to read, but the ideas themselves are very thought-provoking, and, as regards to my previous readings, quite original and appreciatively refreshing.
In the first essay, Illich introduces his notion of vernacular in an interesting historical analysis that goes beyond vernacular speech to the set of customs traditionally performed in smaller communities, in a short range of space and time. He goes on to analyse how the vernacular was progressively supplanted, taking the example of language, by what has now become known as mother tongue, which is anything but, as what we can consider "official language(s)" is nothing more than a prescriptive form of the elite version of the language. (there's a lot more, obviously)
In the second essay, the author talks about what he calls shadow work, that is "I do not mean badly paid work, nor unemployment; I mean unpaid work." In our day and time, we have learned to give it more consideration, especially all the "housework" - done mostly by women - as it is essential in the maintenance of our capitalist societies, but at the time Illich also included everything else related to "the reproduction of labour", as Marx would have written: for example, filling and paying taxes, feeding oneself, going to the doctor's appointment, etc. Reading this essay gives one an interesting perspective on this notion of "shadow work".
In the third essay, Illich argues that the "acceleration" that comes with modern transportation comes with a cost, both economical and social. This is a cost that is paid by all layers of society, but that benefits it differentially, as some - obviously the better financially well-endowed - can benefit more than others. Illich then develops his thoughts by arguing that the average speed at which people move is no more than a bicycle's, and that should be the limitation we should set as a society.
In his fourth essay, finally, Illich introduces a distinction between "energy" as a physics notion (which he calls "e" and is used in calculations), and "energy" as the "subtle something which has the ability to make nature do work". He looks into the history of both notions, and how they affect the present.
Overall, the book was, as stated, not that easy to read despite its short length, but the thoughts are refreshingly radical, and do allow for some very interesting insights, so I'd give it 4.5 stars, rounded up :o)
March 15, 2022
There are some thought-provoking ideas in these essays, but also primitivist and anti-education/specialization ideas that I found extremely frustrating. I also needed a dictionary to figure out what he was saying at times, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself but it's worth noting here.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews