Building a convivial society: autonomy, tools, scale, and capabilities - with L.M. Sacasas

Podcast Notes

What does it mean to create convivial organizations and platforms? Today we explore the relationship between technology and society with L.M. Sacasas — and what we can learn from the philosopher Ivan Illich (1926–2002). L.M. Sacasas is the associate director of the Christian Study Center of Gainesville, Florida and author of The Convivial Society, a newsletter about technology and society. Michael has written for The New Atlantis, The New Inquiry, Real Life Magazine, Mere Orthodoxy, Rhizomes, The American, and Second Nature Journal.

Ivan Illich was a philosopher, Roman Catholic priest, and critic of the institutions of modern Western culture, who addressed contemporary practices in education, medicine, work, energy use, transportation, and economic development.

In this episode, we explore what we mean by conviviality, having tools to empower — not de-skill — humans, the necessity of limits, re-envisioning the good life, and how Ivan Illich has such a big global following in today’s society.

Key highlights of the conversation 

We discussed:

• The meaning of conviviality and the influence of Ivan Illich on L. M. Sacasas’ work
• The accuracy of Ivan Illich’s predictions on mental health, education and work
• Examples of convivial tools
• Identifying how to measure progress and where to aim better
• Why the real world needs to embrace virtual reality

Other references and mentions:

• The Abolition of Institutions: On Ivan Illich with LM Sacasas and Nina Power: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast-episode/podcast//id1195362330?i=1000528978020
• Ivan Illich, Tools for Conviviality, 1973: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1842300113
• Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society, 1971: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschooling_Society
• Thinking After Ivan Illich: https://thinkingafterivanillich.net/
• David Chalmers, Reality+, 2022: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393635805
• PD Smith, Reality+ by David J Chalmers review — are we living in a simulation?, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/19/reality-by-david-j-chalmers-review-are-we-living-in-a-simulation
• Boundaryless Whitepaper, New Foundations of Platform-Ecosystem Thinking — Designing Products and Organizations for a changing world, 2020: https://platformdesigntoolkit.com/DOWNLOAD-NF

Find out more about the show and the research at Boundaryless at https://boundaryless.io/resources/podcast/

Thanks for the ad-hoc music to Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: https://boundaryless.io/podcast-music

Recorded on 20 January 2022.

🌐 Boundaryless Conversations Podcast is about exploring the future of organizing at scale by leveraging on technology, network effects, and shaping narratives. We explore how platforms can help us play with a world in turmoil, change, and transformation: a world that is at the same time more interconnected and interdependent than ever but also more conflictual and rivalrous.