Deschooling Society
Ivan Illich's radical 1971 critique of compulsory schooling argues that institutional education creates dependency and proposes 'learning webs' as an alternative.
Ivan Illich·1971
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Ivan Illich (1926–2002) was an Austrian-Croatian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher whose work critiqued the institutionalization of values in modern society. His most influential work, Deschooling Society (1971), argued that compulsory schooling creates a passive, credential-dependent populace, and proposed 'learning webs' as a more humane alternative. Illich's broader project — critiquing what he called 'counterproductive institutions' — extended to medicine, transportation, and development, but his educational work remains his most enduring legacy.
Key Ideas
- →Compulsory schooling is a counterproductive institution that creates dependency
- →The hidden curriculum of school is obedience, passivity, and consumption
- →Learning webs and peer networks can replace institutional schooling
- →Education is too important to be left to schools