The metastatic spread of plastics in consumer society: a reading through the lens of counter-productivity and conviviality

ABSTRACT The vertiginous rise of plastics after World War II has contributed to a profound transformation of both our lifestyles and the environment. Drawing on Ivan Illich’s concepts of counter-productivity and conviviality, as well as on the notion of agnotology, i.e. strategies for constructing ignorance, this contribution to the section Commodities that Cause Trouble pursues a twofold purpose: (1) to unveil how the metastatic spread of plastics has turned into a source of counter-productivity detrimental to individuals, the environment, and conviviality; (2) to shed light on the role that agnotology seems to play in this diffusion. This short essay reveals that plastics engage in a form of biological degradation, affecting health and the environment. They also undermine conviviality by expropriating consumers’ skills and autonomy while establishing themselves as a source of dependency.