History of Scarcity?

Dear Chris,

I am most glad to read your message. "Silence is a Commons" remains one of my favorite texts of Illich. I do not know if you are familiar with "The Eloquence of silence" - an essay you can find in Celebration of Awareness - which for me is the root of that text. One could see a bridge between the 'first' and 'last' Illich. 

You probably know this, but "Silence is a Commons" pertains to a collection of essays you can find in In the Mirror of the Past. In this book you will find some essays with ideas that Illich later on deepened in books such as In the Vineyard of the Text and Rivers North. I believe Illich never really finished the History of Scarcity project. Shadow Work and Gender remains the books in which scarcity crosses the pages as a redline.

I have been carrying a hypothesis that I would like to share with you, I would enjoy to hear your thoughts on it if you see fitting. Illich mentioned in the beginning of Shadow Work that he would later engage with the historicity of the needs and the history of scarcity. Such book has never been written by Illich. I suggest, however, that Agamben has traced something quite similar to that which Illich had once intended to do. For me, this can be seen in the idea of the Church’s oeconomia, Giorgio Agamben’s The Kingdom and the Glory: For a Theological Genealogy of Economy and Government (2011).

Let's continue in touch.

All the best,

Neto

Dear Neto,

Thanks for your remarks here!

History of Scarcity was definitely never finished, although you certainly can see the direction Illich's thought was moving with Shadow Work and Gender. Indeed, I found Gender extremely eye-opening, as I had never looked at economics in quite the way this text revealed, and I may never think about it quite the same as long as I live...

I was not aware of In the Mirror of the Past, which somehow escaped my notice! The Book Depository doesn't have a copy, and lists it as currently unavailable in paperback or hardback, but I've notified them of my interest. I will definitely seek this text out. Very grateful for being made aware of this!

Although I am familiar with Agamben, I have not read The Kingdom and the Glory, only Homo Sacer, State of Exception, The Open, and Where We Are Now. At roughly 300 pages, this is beyond what I would slot into my reading list casually, so I will need to investigate how well this supports what I am currently pursuing philosophically... These days my reading time works somewhat differently to how it once did, as I have cut all of my academic ties - I fear those institutions bearing the name 'university' have gone the way that Illich repeatedly warns human institutions are headed, and I will not follow them there willingly.

So alas, I may not be able to bear on your hypothesis! Or at least, not at this moment...

Many thanks for your time and thought,

Chris.

Dear Chris, 

Elaborating the connection Neto hints at between Agamben's Kingdom and Illich's scarcity is likely to add another 300 pages to our collective unread reading list. Besides, I'm not sure such a thing will ever see the light of day.

FYI: Hans Achterhuis told Illich that he wrote Het rijk van de schaarste (Empire of scarcity, 1988) to finish what Ivan promised but did not do. 

Coincidentally, a few days ago, someone else also noted the promised but unwritten history of scarcity and asked if I could briefly characterize Illich's pre-Gender books as prolegomena to a history of scarcity. This was my reply.

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best regards

Sajay

Thanks for your additional comments, @sajaysamuel! I cannot seem to find an English translation of Empire of Scarcity by Hans Achterhuis - is this because it does not exist, or just that it is hard to find...? My Dutch is definitely too weak to read in his native tongue!

In other news, the Book Depository now has In the Mirror of the Past in stock, so I have ordered this immediately and will bump this up to the top of my reading list.

I am still on the fence about the Agamben text, but I would welcome anyone else's views on the book @neto-leao referenced, The Kingdom and the Glory. Agamben being the philosopher that he is, it feels like a major undertaking - although I have gained a great deal when I have tackled him previously. Having already read an Agamben in the last year also gives me pause.

Forgive the slightly over-explicated commentary - it is my nature to write more than is necessary!

With unlimited love and respect to everyone here.

Chris.

Hi Chris, 

There is no English version of Hans's book. You will find the argument summarized in Hans Achterhuis in “Scarcity and Sustainability,” in Global Ecology: A new arena for political conflict, (MA: Zed Books, 1993). 

Agamben's Kingdom and Glory is a foundational text to understand how/why everything has become manageable and to see that media is an essential feature of power, which is itself groundless. Its connection to Illich's scarcity is more subterranean and would require much effort to elaborate. 

best

Sajay

Thanks for elaborating, @sajaysamuel! Your description definitely increases my interest in Agamben's text.

Dear convivial folks,

I have now finished working my way through the essays from In the Mirror of the Past, although it raises as many questions as it answers! I may have to read this again, but I will most likely wait a while before I do so. I can already feel great influence from these essays in the context of concepts such as 'dwelling', 'mother tongue', and 'interface' vs 'face'. 

Many thanks for putting my onto this collection! Greatly appreciated.

Chris.