Comments on: Book review: The past and future of work

By: wufnik

wufnik — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:27:32 +0000

Thanks for the comment. Yes, that one has been on the pile for some time now, but just hanve’t gotten around to it yet–will move it up to the top now!

By: GC Anders

GC Anders — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:16:21 +0000

Nice review — and thanks for the kind words about “Merchants of Debt.” Actually the fullest look at the rise and fall of a craft culture inside American industry is Max Holland’s book “When the Machine Stopped.” It came out in 1989 or so, published by Harvard Business School Press.

It stands the test of time very well.

By: wufnik

wufnik — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:06:40 +0000

Your last paragraph summarizes everything very nicely. Like Crawford, I’m aghast at the devaluation of physical work that has taken place the past three decades. Much physical work involves a strong intellectual component, and this is what Sennett in particular demonstrates–how hard this can be much of the time, and what we have to do to master a whole range of physical skills. Personally, I blame Reagan, but I tend to blame Reagan for everything anyway. But it’s not a coincidence, I think, that the war against the unions, which really took off in the 1980s, corresponded with this devaluation. Unions aren’t the whole answer, obviously, but it’s interesting to note that in Sweden and Germany, where unions remain very strong, so does the manufacturing sector, and so does the whole notion of apprenticeship and mastering a craft.

And as far as horticulture goes, Morris and Ruskin would absolutely agree with you!

By: Lex

Lex — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:39:59 +0000

Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. Sennett just jumped to the top of my reading list.

I come from a family of craftsmen, mostly carpenters, some professional some just serious hobbyist. My great-grandfather went blind at the beginning of the Great Depression and eventually taught himself how to use all of his power tools again. He even built a house without the ability to see anything, which has its advantages i suppose. You can work in the dark.

A little piece of me has always wished that i’d skipped the higher education and pursued the graceful art and craft of carpentry from an early age, but i’m not sure that i’d appreciate it as i do had i taken a different path. I do however count my blessings that i found a craft/art and have been able to pursue it as a full time occupation within a local environment that supports and appreciates it. I don’t think i’m off base in describing horticulture as a craft in the sense that Sennett and Crawford are using. (I also feel lucky to have experienced it in bookmaking.)

Or maybe i’m just weird, an 80 year old trapped in a 36 year old body. One of the reasons i drive the vehicle i do is that when i open the hood i actually understand what’s happening to motivate the car and can do something about it if things aren’t right. Of course my vehicle was built by Japanese workers at a time when the philosophy described above seems to have been the goal that whole companies were striving towards with the understanding that sales and profits would flow from the properly executed philosophy. So maybe it’s just a rolling affirmation of how i think the world should operate.

And i find it strange to live in a culture where it seems that the goal is to not know things, to not care for the simple pleasure of holding the end product in your hand, and to value cheap disposability over something that exhibits the success and good work of another human being. I try to eat local food for many reasons, but the biggest one is that it represents the knowledge and labor of a man (woman) who cares.

And i don’t find intellectualism and craftsmanship to be mutually exclusive; actually, they go very well together. The former gives depth to the latter, which gives solidity to the former and grounds it in the real world.