Illich, Ivan

As a Catholic priest cum public intellectual, Ivan Illich is best known for his critique of modern industrial society and its institutions, in particular his controversial deschooling proposal set forth in the 1970s. What is often neglected is the significant shift in his subsequent intellectual development, in which Illich turned to cultural history for questioning the modern certainties concerning our practices and needs. On that basis, Illich suggested that the origin of modern culture and its malaises can be traced back to Christianity and its perversion