Ivan Illich

Central to James's thinking and the source of the word "convivial" in thread-convivial-computation.

What James takes from him (James, in conversation, Aug–Oct 2026; unverified). Tools for Conviviality (1973): tools that serve people versus tools that make people serve them; counterproductivity, where an institution past a certain scale defeats the purpose it was built for; the radical monopoly of institutions over needs. James's own gloss: a bicycle is convivial; a car in a city built for cars is not (thread-convivial-computation).

In departure-in-place (2026-10-26): counterproductivity, radical monopoly and institutional capture, which operates at household level for the PMC (pmc-dependency-chains).

Found in sessions (each stated by its source):

• The analysis behind Tools for Conviviality was first a Spanish document Illich wrote with Valentina Borremans for Chilean socialists at CIDOC in 1972; he ranks her first among his influences. See valentina-borremans, borremans-guide-convivial-tools-1979. Text: https://arl.human.cornell.edu/linked%20docs/Illich_Tools_for_Conviviality.pdf (read 2026-10-16).
• Used as an engineering rule: Lee Felsenstein took conviviality as the reason not to armour Community Memory's public terminal (1973-74). See community-memory.

Disposition: stable (James's reading), stated (session findings). Part of philosophy-of-technology.