As Michael Agger writes:
We all can’t become motorcycle mechanics. And while Crawford would not be so unsubtle as to suggest direct prescriptions for happiness, he emerges from his tales […] with some strategies for avoiding despondent alienation. The first is a notion of scale. It’s satisfying to complete a task from start to finish. Start a small business, or learn a trade—really! Do you know how much plumbers make? It also helps to imbue what you do with a sense of craftsmanship. Strive not for flimsy new economy “flexibility” but for real, handy expertise in a chosen field. The point is to achieve mastery, which in turn gives you a skill not subject to the whims of office politics. Finally, think about how your work affects others. This is a hedge against both narcissistic creativity and doing actual harm. .[….] You might call Crawford a locavore of work.
via Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soul Craft. – By Michael Agger – Slate Magazine.
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Hi Jeffrey,
You might like this blog by Stanley Fish that links Crawford and my book Big Sid’s Vincati:
http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/fathers-sons-and-motorcycles/
Nice to see a fan of the old Lingua Franca out there. You might like my book–I think it dramatizes the point Crawford makes polemically.
best
Matthew Biberman