cra ftsm a n sh ip rep resents th e m ost r a d ic a l ch a llen g e to th e n ew
ca p ita lism . S o is ca p ita lism ’s stron gest opponent c r a ft?
RS
Nobody believes in revolution anymore, and nobody wants
to go back to the guilds. So this is not a brief for returning to the
old-fashioned guild system. However, I think the most radical tiling
that could happen in the modern workplace is for workers to say,
“ Let us do a better job. This is not good enough, we could do better.”
This would be profoundly destabilizing to the way most work is
organized. So, in that sense, it is a very powerful proposal. We are
beginning to see this in companies that are committed to employee
enrichment and developing the craft powers of their employees, like
Toyota and
BM W .
This is a real challenge for the future—how can
we produce a nation of craftsmen?
In some ways we’re beginning to see an increase of the craft
ethos throughout culture. We are in an age that is inventing new
crafts all the time. A lot of craftspeople I meet are focused on the
traditional craft media and don’t realize how what they do is related
to advances in technology, medicine and politics. The principles
of making physical objects and the skill sets involved have expanded
to all sorts of other domains. I’d like to see people in the craft world
get rid of their neurosis about justifying whether they’re artists or
not. Instead, they should be looking at their practice as something
that is really important. So it doesn’t matter whether Damien Hirst
thinks they are artists or not. What matters is that the surgeon or
the computer programmer sees that they are all engaged in the same
kind of activity.
s r
T o u ’v e o ffe re d a co m p lex d ia g n o sis o f o u r cu ltu re, b u t I ’m
cu rio u s a b o u t y o u r p rescrip tio n s. I f y o u co u ld p a ss leg isla tio n th a t
w o u ld h elp m ake p eo p le m ore en ga g ed a n d com p eten t c itiz e n s ,
w h a t w o u ld it b e ?
r s
I’d ban all multiple-choice questions in tests, which encourage
people to get the quickest answer possible rather than to dwell on
the problem. This may sound frivolous, but it is quite serious. On
a more practical matter, I think that craftsmanship flourishes in
small-scale business and I’d like to see our government, like the Brit-
ish government, invest more in small-production businesses.
That’s an absolute necessity. T o support craftsmanship you have
to support enterprise on the small-scale level.
Also, in the United States we don’t put enough money into men-
toring and have very poor mentor programs. We don’t pay master
craftsmen to take on and train young craftsmen. We don’t see that
as a social good. This is the single policy we could do in the u.s. to
get people engaged in the transfer of physical knowledge from mas-
ter to apprentice. So they can learn skills directly from those actu-
ally practicing their craft. I would really like to see this happen.
s r
W h e n y o u speak a bou t b u ild in g a n a tion o f craftspeople, do y o u
h a v e a n id ea l cu ltu ra l m odel or m ovem ent in m ind, eith er h isto rica l
o r contem porary ?
r s
There are lots of small examples, but nothing that represents
a huge alternative. In the beginning of
T he C raftsm an
I describe
the community of Linux programmers and their chat rooms, which
involve highly focused work on a concrete project. It is very interac-
tive and very cooperative. Another small example in the
U .K .
is the
organic farm movement, which is also quite cooperative, and where
people are always discussing the skills of actually growing food.
Now that isn’t going to shake the powers of the supermarket, but it
is a strong movement. So there are lots of small initiatives like this.
And in traditional crafts the same sort of thing is going on, with the
return of people doing skilled physical work like weaving, knitting
and sewing, for example. Parts of those economic sectors are com-
ing back to life and they are much more collaborative. The idea of
this is twofold: one is small-scale and face-to-face, and the other is
web-based. I think the web is a fantastic medium for craftsmen.
It is a means for mutual support, skill sharing and problem solving.
There is something inherently workshop-like that dwells on the
web; it is a great technology for craft. +
Suzanne Ram ljak, a writer, curator and art historian, is currently editor
o/Metalsmith
magazine.
Richard Sennett’s major publications in sociology
and cultural studies include:
—T h e C ra ftsm a n ,
2008
- T h e C u ltu re o f th e N e w C a p ita lism ,
2005
—
R espect, In an A g e o f.In eq u a lity
, 2003
— T h e C orrosion o f Character: T h e Person a l Consequences
o f W o rk in th e N ew C a p ita lism ,
1998
—F le sh a n d S ton e: T h e B o d y a n d th e C ity in W estern
C iv iliz a tio n
, 1994
—
T h e F a ll o f P u b lic M a n
, 1977
He is also the author of three novels.
oct/novo9 american craft 049
www.freedowns.net & www.journal-plaiza.net
