The Convivialism: origins, dynamics and perspectives

Sérgio Costa is Professor of Sociology and Chairman of the Latin America Institute at the Free University of Berlin and spokesperson of the "Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America". (www.mecila.net).     

Convivialism: origins, dynamics and perspectives
Convivialism can be traced back to the work of the Viennese theologian and philosopher Ivan Illich, and in particular to his book Tools for Conviviality (1973), written in Cuernava, Mexico. Following Illich's search for new patterns of interpersonal and human-nature relations, numerous authors and activists have expanded and updated his central theses and linked them to related schools of thought (from gift theory to indigenous philosophies). Today, convivialism combines pluralist theorising with various initiatives and social movements that oppose the reduction of humans to predatory homo economicus. The particular way in which convivialism intertwines theory and practice, research work and political engagement is illustrated in the two convivialist manifestos (2014 and 2020) that have already been published and translated into numerous languages.

The lecture will address the premises of convivialism as well as its current developments and perspectives, but also its limits in bringing about a comprehensive socio-ecological transformation.