Illich, Ivan (1926-2002)

Austrian-born US radical philosopher and activist. His works, which include Deschooling Society (1971), Towards a History of Needs (1978), and Gender (1982), are a critique of contemporary economic development, especially in the developing world.

Illich was born in Vienna and has lived in the USA and Latin America. He believed that modern technology and bureaucratic institutions are destroying peasant skills and self-sufficiency and creating a new form of dependency: on experts, professionals, and material goods. True liberation, he believes, can only be achieved by abolishing the institutions on which authority rests, such as schools and hospitals.