Is it Energy Equity or Communism?

In our reading for October 5th, Illich makes a claim that, at least for me, stuck: “only a ceiling on energy use can lead to social relations that are characterized by high levels of equity.” Before I begin, I should mention some background information on Ivan Illich. Based on his Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich#Honours,_decorations,_awards_and_distinctions), he was a highly educated priest and philosopher, who grew up in a number of different countries, was a polyglot, and his biggest audience was leftist intellectuals.

His comment about putting a ceiling on energy use to result in equity set off little bells in my head. Communist? Communist? Communist? Communism is often frowned upon in the US, since it is advertised as the polar opposite of democracy. However, the creation of communism started from those with good intentions. Karl Marx wanted to ensure that everyone has access to amenities and goods equally. Unfortunately, this could never come to perfect fruition because no matter what, corruption ends up taking place, and thus there aren’t enough goods to go around to everyone. Think of Animal Farm as an example, if you haven’t seen it, you totally should. 

For context to my thought process, my parents grew up in communist Romania, so I grew up with stories from all of my family members about what life was like during a communist regime. Illich’s claim seems to tick all of the boxes. For example: “high levels of equity.” My mother used to wait in line for hours at a time weekly to get eggs on behalf of her family, standing alongside others in her town. What would happen when she gets to the front? Get 4 eggs. Everyone got 4 eggs. It was proportionately distributed based on family size. Was it equity? I suppose it could be considered that way. The unfortunate part is that 4 eggs isn’t enough for a family for the whole week. But hey, the government said it was fair, so it is what it is. 

Another example: “a ceiling on energy use.” My grandmother said that the water would simply shut off at some point during the week, and there wouldn’t be any more water until the following week. There is the ceiling on energy use. There’s a maximum. Again, technically, the water would shut off for everyone, so there’s the equity that the government claims exists. However, those in positions of power in the town would get a heads up about when it’ll shut off. Those who are even higher in power level would still get water through their “connections.” 

So, my thoughts are, is there a way to set a cap on energy use to ensure equity without it becoming a communist rule? I know that may not be what Illich was arguing for, but based on my family’s experience, it sounds dangerously close.