Medical Nemesis

Name: Medical Nemesis
Author: Ivan Illich

by Ivan Illich

Critique of medicine as oppressive institution limiting health and autonomy

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About the author

Ivan Illich

Austrian-American philosopher and social critic whose Deschooling Society and Tools for Conviviality attacked modern institutions—schools, hospitals, transportation—for counterproductively increasing dependence and inequality. His concept of counterproductivity was enormously influential in radical educational and medical circles.

More by Ivan Illich

Deschooling SocietyCritique of institutional schooling and proposal for alternative learning communities
Tools for ConvivialityPhilosophy of tools and technology promoting autonomy and human flourishing
Energy and EquityEssay on transportation technology's role in social inequality and energy use
Shadow WorkEssays on unpaid domestic labor hidden behind industrial productivity and progress
In the Vineyard of the TextMedieval history exploring the transition from oral to written culture