As noted in my prior post, until last year Illich—as an intellectual figure or otherwise—had been nothing more than a footnote in my prior historical work. I gave little thought to his life, influences, ideas, and publications. That all changed courtesy of Paul Starr, Elena Conis, and my recent resurgence of work on the history of medicine and anti-intellectualism. Given my ignorance and the importance of personal, social, institutional context, today I want to think about Illich’s life and influences. If my goal is to fully understand Medical Nemesis, I need to know how he arrived at that work and Read more