Learning from Ivan Illich to Embrace Vision and Eschew Plans

Abstract

We live in the midst of ecological collapse, and that collapse is brought on by a system that has poorly served humanity by creating  institutions that indocrinate rather than liberate us and function primarily to maintain their own existence. Illich and others have vigorously pointed this out, but their calls for a more convivial society have gained little traction, largely because their critique of society is so fundamental  and universal that they have been unable to gain many allies. The problem lies in the current paradigm, put in place since the Enlightenment, that only allows us to see the world in terms of problems, solutions, and plans. I argue that we should be open to Vision, and I discuss my own struggle to step out of the soul-killing paradigm in which I formed my identity.

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