Maximizing Human Agency | Ivan Illich on The Convivial Society

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The quotes from Ivan Illich that we have looked at thus far might suggest that he was a pessimistic and unhappy person. The truth, however, is that Illich does more than simply offer a critique, he also provides a vision and a path forward, as the title of his seminal work, Tools for Conviviality, suggests. The following quote offers at least part of Illich’s vision:

“A convivial society should be designed to allow all its members the most autonomous action by means of tools least controlled by others. People feel joy, as opposed to mere pleasure, to the extent that their activities are creative; while the growth of tools beyond a certain point increases regimentation, dependence, exploitation, and impotence. I use the term ‘tool’ broadly enough to include not only simple hardware such as drills, pots, syringes, brooms, building elements, or motors, and not just large machines like cars or power stations; I also include among tools productive institutions such as factories that produce tangible commodities like corn flakes or electric current, and productive systems for intangible commodities such as those which produce ‘education,’ ‘health,’ ‘knowledge,’ or ‘decisions.’ I use this term because it allows me to subsume into one category all rationally designed devices, be they artifacts or rules, codes or operators, and to distinguish all these planned and engineered instrumentalities from other things such as basic food or implements, which in a given culture are not deemed to be subject to rationalization. School curricula or marriage laws are no less purposely shaped social devices than road networks.”

– Ivan Illich, Tools for Conviviality

Basic to Illich’s understanding of human flourishing is his conviction that humans flourish to the extent that they have control over their lives. The concept of “freedom” in the popular imagination is perhaps most tied to the idea of living in a country ruled by a democratic government that represents the will of the people, and of having the freedom to do as one likes, with as few restrictions and laws as possible. This is understandable, of course, but it represents only one aspect of freedom.

A deeper consideration of freedom takes into account the extent to which one’s inner person is free. We touched on addiction and envy in last week’s installment. Other things that restrict our inner freedom include fear (of the unknown, of loss, etc.), a lack of self-confidence, a lack of hope/optimism, a lack of connection (and therefore, of the safety net of family/community), etc.

In order to be truly free, humans need to be internally freed from the kinds of mental traumas that plague modern humans. I won’t go into it deeply here, but it should be noted that the mental health epidemic that we’re facing in the modern world is directly related to the increased fear, stress, lack of confidence, lack of hope, and lack of a sense of personal agency that accompanies life in the modern world. These are modern ailments that were largely unknown in pre-Industrial cultures.

The world that Illich envisions and advocates for is one that maximizes for human agency and creativity, rather than for efficiency: “People feel joy, as opposed to mere pleasure, to the extent that their activities are creative; while the growth of tools beyond a certain point increases regimentation, dependence, exploitation, and impotence.” Because the technological culture in which we live values efficiency above all other things, we have allowed ourselves to get trapped in the efficient logic of a mechanistic worldview.

We will continue to return to this theme: you are not a machine! This is the conviction at the heart of this channel and, I think, the main ailment of the modern world: we have allowed ourselves to be instrumentalized and to be sacrificed on the altar of efficiency. We will only find the meaning and purpose that we seek when we live our lives according to, and make decisions based on maximizing human flourishing rather than efficiency.

OK…that’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this latest foray into the work of Ivan Illich…as always, stay tuned for more by downloading The How Did We Get Here? Reading List…and I will see you soon!