1926- . US radical philosopher and activist,
born in Austria. His works, which include
Deschooling Society 1971, Towards a History
of Need 1978, and Gender 1983, are a critique
against contemporary economic development,
especially in the Third World. Illich was
born in Vienna and has lived in the USA and
Latin America. He believes 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.