I have recently discovered Ivan Illich; it turns out that I have been promoting much of his teaching for years, without knowing it. Here is one brilliant quote:
“Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must tell a new powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and our present into a coherent whole, one that even shines some light into the future so that we can take the next step… If you want to change a society, then you have to tell an alternative story.”
Of course, what we are looking for is this ‘new powerful tale’, but a new story does not have to do everything that Illich describes – a better story can provide a measure of progress, and maybe open up new possibilities we cannot currently see.
After a quick introduction, it seems I agree with much of what he has to say about education, and fear that much of what he says about modern medicine may be true.
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