I thought that Illich was spot on with some of his analysis and a million miles wide of the mark with the rest! His comments about the growth of the nanny state interfering with every aspect of our lives rang very true however some of what he said about the medical profession "ill become illnesses to be treated by doctors and people lost their will and ability to cope with indisoposition, or even discomfort" led me to wonder whether this man ever had a day's sickness in his life. How much "discomfort" would he endure before putting his total distrust of professionals aside. In this vein he goes on to talk about people's extensive visits to medical practioners. Prior to such availability people endured tremendous physical suffering and most lived to about the age of 40 if they were lucky.
I agreed with what he said about consumerism and the fact that people buy so much "stuff" they just don't need, and that doesn't satisfy them however I'm not sure this really does arise from professionals telling them what to buy, but rather quite simply from the fact that the majority of the population have extra cash to buy more than basic food, shelter and clothing.
Illich's comment about the control of antibiotics by professionals seems totally misguided - surely they are controlled for good reason otherwise we would be awash with even more super bugs resistant to antibiotics than we are already.
His comments about not getting the specification you want in new cars sounded a bit suspect too. Yes the specifications you want may not instantaneously available but if you are willing to allow a bit of lead time, I thought you could get what you wanted. Having never felt strongly about getting leopard print seats though I could be wrong in this!
His comments about professionals going into kindergartens rang true to a certain extent however early intervention is really important with an awful lots of issues - speech therapy before a child becomes an object of fun, social workers for their safety.
His comments about homes becoming hygienic apartments again had a grain of truth. A friend once told me she knew someone who spent £40 a month on cleaning stuff (and her children had asthma) but again I think that was down to personal choice. Yes there's lots of adverts for cleaning products but I can't think many people go to such an extreme.
Illich seems to be incredibly cynical about professionals. Yes there are problems but let's not ignore that the vast majority behave responsibly and do their work well. I think that many of the problems that come about are due to professionals not being allowed to behave as professionals - that managerialism creeping in again. Only in recent years did doctors have to focus on budgeting, likewise headmasters. They are no longer able to make decisions based just on their professional judgement. We really have to be able to take that step back, review our own practice and not become routinsed in what we do.
My last Post ...
17 years ago
Yes, I agree that Illich is all too ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater!
ReplyDeleteAs you say, it would be interesting to know who he turns to when he is ill. Somehow I think it may be a 'professional' doctor rather than someone who dabbles in folk remedies!
I, too, think overmanagement probably is behind so many of the problems with professionals in general. But, then, there were good reasons for imposing more control over them. If all schools had been performing better, headteachers would probably have been left to get on with their work themselves.
R.e "ill become illnesses to be treated by doctors and people lost their will and ability to cope with indisoposition, or even discomfort" How much "discomfort" would he endure before putting his total distrust of professionals aside.
ReplyDeleteAparently he he suffered from a cancerous growth on his face and rather than seek help from doctors he smoked opium for the pain! That is how much he distrusted the medical profession!
Wikipedia is your friend: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich