Loss of the Commons, Commodification and Powerlesssness

This excerpt from Illich's work popped up on my RSS feed yesterday. It was a reminder that so much that we lament has roots much deeper than we imagine.


The loss of the commons, for instance, whether through enclosures at the dawn of the industrial revolution or through the capture of vernacular practices and ways of life by technology or professional privilege commodifies that which was once freely available and so forces more and more of our lives into the confines of markets with all of the inequalities and suffering that this implies.


But Illich's great contribution was to recognize that this loss of common space, competencies and tools means much more. It alienates us from nature and from each other. It destroys community by rendering all relations between now commodified individuals competitive, often viciously so, and makes plunder of the environment, now a mere commodity as well, inevitable. And in doing so, he shows us, it leaves us powerless and thus dependent on those who would exploit us. 


Illich's arguments are almost always difficult. And they can be frustratingly vague and open ended. He painted on a very large canvas and sometimes seems impatient with those who don't grasp this larger picture. But I would suggest that several decades after his most groundbreaking work, he has more to tell us now then when he first spoke. Though much of his writing is out of print, it has found new life on the internet. Though there are many sites that host his work, this is a particularly useful one.