Whole Body Library / systems reference
Tools for Conviviality
Ivan Illich · 1973
A critique of tools and institutions that reduce human autonomy rather than support it.
Why it belongs
A philosophical guardrail: tools should enlarge skill and agency, not create dependency or passive consumption.
Reading map
How this one helps
Reader signals
Related reading
4
Related tools
0
Subjects
2
Read the reference first; buy only if it answers a real question for your body or practice.
Why read it
A small, sharp book that can keep WBC honest about commerce. The best tool is not always the most advanced; it is the one that preserves agency.
Key idea
Good tools make people more capable, not merely more dependent.
Try this
For one product category, ask whether the tool teaches capacity or replaces it.
Best for
- Editorial-method notes
- Anti-overconsumption framing
Read with caution
- Philosophical critique needs translation into practical buyer guidance
Source note
Cover and excerpts
This page uses an original WBC cover card instead of reproducing publisher cover art. Short excerpts, when present, are used for commentary.
Finding a copy
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