L’autonomia della cura nel centenario di Ivan Illich. Per una critica dello sguardo istituzionale

On the centenary of Ivan Illich’s birth (1926-2002), this article re-examines his critique of the medicalization of society, starting from Medical Nemesis (1976) and the theoretical framework of conviviality, deschooling, and the genealogy of needs. The central thesis argues that care in Illich’s thought is not a mere polemic against modern medicine, but a radical critique of the professional administration of the human experience, which transforms suffering and death into technical problems delegated to experts. By analyzing clinical, social, and cultural iatrogenesis, this contribution illustrates the expropriation of health, understood as an autonomous capacity for responsibility. By bringing into dialogue key works - including Deschooling Society (1971), Tools for Conviviality (1973) and Toward a History of Needs (1978) - and recent contributions on the Illichian legacy, the article highlights the continuity of a critique involving medicine, schooling and technology. In conclusion, Illichian thought emerges as a crucial resource for a pedagogy of care based on limits, reciprocity, and the restoration of competencies to individuals, families, and communities.