Shop Class as Soulcraft Book Summary - Shop Class as Soulcraft Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

Shop Class as Soulcraft summary

Name: Shop Class as Soulcraft
Rating: 4.4 (17 reviews)
Author: Matthew B. Crawford

Matthew B. Crawford

An Inquiry Into the Value of Work

4.4 (17 ratings)

21 mins

Table of Contents

Shop Class as Soulcraft
summarized in 9 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Discover the perks of a job in the trades.

When asked what they want their children to be when they grow up, most parents today would probably answer something like: a manager, a lawyer, an IT specialist. Many parents probably wouldn’t be thrilled to hear if their kids told them: “I want to become a car mechanic.” But, as you’ll learn from these blinks, parents needn’t be afraid of such ambitions. The job market is changing and the career prospects of skilled manual laborers are looking better and better compared with those of knowledge workers, i.e., those whose jobs are all about handling information.

There’s also the (very important) question of happiness. Sure, it sounds comfortable to spend your life at a desk and never get your hands dirty. But many students who opt for white-collar jobs are heading for a miserable working life trapped in cubicles, overworked, underpaid and deeply unsatisfied. These blinks make a strong case for the alternative: a career in the trades. They address office workers young and old who are tired of dealing with menial tasks that can never satisfy their yearning for meaning.

In these blinks, you’ll find out

why working in a cubicle can be much more exhausting than working on an assembly line all day;
what Sherlock Holmes has in common with your local car mechanic; and
why you may tell hundreds of dirty jokes if you’re in a crew, but not a single one if you’re member of a team.

Even though we don’t fix and build things ourselves anymore, an interest in manual labor is on the rise.

Can you recall the last time you worked on your car, built a piece of furniture from scratch or made your own clothing? Chances are it’s probably been a while – if you’ve ever done it at all.

That’s because the modern world is full of devices that discourage users from repairing or even understanding them. Many modern products are so complex and delicate that the majority of people are too intimidated to attempt repairing them. Just imagine trying to fix a problem with your flat-screen TV.

In addition, many contemporary products are designed to conceal their messy inner workings with a seamless facade. For instance, if you open the hood of a new German car you won’t see an engine but a plastic case.

Products are even put together in such a way as to discourage their disassembly. For instance, they might come with extra hardware that can only be loosened with uncommon tools.

Part of the reason we’ve become more passive and dependent on other people to fix things is due to these changes. We used to make things; now we buy them. We used to fix things; now we throw them away.

It’s not just that we’re discouraged from making repairs – we might also have the feeling that doing things ourselves is economically wasteful. After all, imagine all the time and effort that would go into knitting an imperfect sweater when you could buy a perfectly good one for a few bucks.

However, the interest in manual work is slowly but surely on the rise. It’s clear that people are growing increasingly discontent with not understanding the products they use and depending on businesses to provide them with everything from food to clothing.

On top of that, the rapidly deteriorating state of the economy is demanding more self-reliance. As a result, we’re seeing people grow their own food, fix things themselves and even raise chickens on the rooftops of New York City.

A good education doesn’t guarantee a decent career anymore.

Most people were raised with the knowledge that earning a college degree was their ticket to a comfortable, well-paying job. Unfortunately, this expectation is being broken for people everyday. That’s because a successful career is increasingly determined by criteria other than educational level.

According to the economist Alan Blinder, the so-called gap between educated and less-educated people is shrinking. Blinder predicts that, in the future, a more obvious distinction will be between people doing jobs that can be executed via the internet versus those that can’t. Only people doing work that requires face-to-face interaction will be able to count on a stable career, such as doctors or other people who provide an in-person service. Because, as Blinder says, “You can’t hammer a nail over the internet.”

The separation of thinking from doing hurts both blue- and white-collar workers.

Even if you’ve never had a factory job, it’s easy to imagine how mind-numbing work on an assembly line could be. After all, spending eight hours a day tightening bolts is a sure route to boredom.

Over the last hundred years or so, a marked division of labor was drawn that took the intellectual component out of many jobs. The first result was the degradation of blue-collar work.

Schools today are less focused on teaching – resulting in a disengaged workforce.

Did you know that manual trades are now looked down upon by most schools? Shop classes have been slashed over the last 20 years, as educators fear that students working with tools and their hands will distract them from their real goal: becoming knowledge workers.

In fact, many schools actively discourage students from choosing a career in the trades, instead urging them to focus on becoming knowledge workers. Although the latter is more likely to be the route to a lifetime of job insecurity, educators are still inclined to prepare their students for theoretically oriented jobs.

Knowledge work, cubicle jobs and obnoxious management techniques alienate workers.

After the author earned his master’s in philosophy, he became a knowledge worker, joining a company called Information Access Company where he read academic articles, indexed them and wrote short abstracts that the company sold to libraries. But the author wasn’t happy.

He, like many knowledge workers today, encountered working conditions worse than most manual laborers. That’s because, just like assembly-line workers, many knowledge workers are put under extreme pressure to meet deadlines.

Teamwork is more confining than work in crews.

Humans have been cooperating forever, but the idea of teamwork among knowledge workers dates back to the 1970s. It was during this decade that people began standing up to the idea that one person should dominate their coworkers. The result was teamwork, a tool that empowers all employees to participate in workplace decisions.

Unfortunately, teamwork isn’t as empowering as people claim it is. That’s because the members of a team are judged based on their individual behavior, but in a team of knowledge workers, it’s hard to see the influence of any one individual team member.

Finding a meaningful job pays off big time.

For a lot of people, work is just a means to an end – a way to do all the leisurely activities they would be doing all the time if they weren’t working. For instance, a well-respected financial analyst works grueling hours on Wall Street for months on end so he can finally climb Mount Everest during his two weeks of vacation.

What’s the problem with this lifestyle?

Working with your hands is satisfying and can enhance your sense of self.

Wouldn’t it be exhilarating to work in a think tank where you tackled complex and exciting problems all day, every day? Well, in the author’s experience, it can actually leave you oddly unsatisfied. In fact, he was so unfulfilled working at a think thank that he left to become a motorcycle mechanic, a job he loves.

Why?

Manual work is intellectually engaging and helps build autonomy.

It’s commonly assumed that manual labor is just for those who are better with their hands than their minds. But that’s absolute nonsense. In fact, the trades tax a worker’s brain just as much as your typical knowledge work.

That’s because to excel in a manual trade you have to pay careful attention to the physical world and understand how it functions. For example, by practicing his craft, a carpenter becomes an expert in countless types of wood by observing their resilience through different weather and myriad other changes.

Want to see all full key ideas from Shop Class as Soulcraft ?

Key ideas in Shop Class as Soulcraft

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is Shop Class as Soulcraft about?

Shop Class as Soulcraft (2009) is an eye-opening view into how working with your hands can transform your life. These blinks take a look at the changing nature of work, the value of manual labor and how choosing a trade, as opposed to a profession, might be your ticket to happiness.

Best quote from Shop Class as Soulcraft

Does the use of tools answer to some permanent requirement of our nature?

—Matthew B. Crawford

Who should read Shop Class as Soulcraft ?

Academics and students who aren’t sure if a life of theoretical work is for them
Readers who want to learn more about the philosophy and psychology of manual work
Anybody who’s fed up with working in a cubicle and wants a way out

About the Author

Matthew B. Crawford is a philosopher and motorcycle mechanic. He earned a Ph.D. in political philosophy and took a job at a Washington D.C. think tank but wasn’t satisfied. So he changed course to open an independent motorcycle repair shop and is still pursuing academia as a research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.

Categories with Shop Class as Soulcraft

Motivation & Inspiration

Books like Shop Class as Soulcraft

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Robert Pirsig

An Inquiry into Values

11 min

3.9

The Art of Manifesting

Carolyn Boyes

Tap into the power of the universe to live your best life

Re-awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age

How to Stop Struggling and Start Living

18 min

4.6

The Greatness Mindset

Lewis Howes

Unlock the Power of Your Mind and Live Your Best Life Today

16 min

4.3

Discipline Is Destiny

Ryan Holiday

The Power of Self-Control

How to free yourself from philosophical dogmas and assert your own values

25 min

4.7

Wherever You Go, There You Are

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life

26 min

4.4

How Big Things Get Done

Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner

The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration

Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss

New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

28 min

4.7

How to Talk to Anyone

Leil Lowndes

92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

Combine Paleo and Vegan to Stay Fit, Happy and Healthy for Life

23 min

4.5

The Science of Getting Rich

Wallace D. Wattles

Your Master Key to Success

11 min

3.8

The Art of Simple Living

Shunmyo Masuno

100 Daily Practices from a Japanese Zen Monk for a Lifetime of Calm and Joy

20 min

4.6

The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A cornerstone in modern political and social thought

21 min

4.5

So Good They Can't Ignore You

Cal Newport

Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

19 min

4.4

Love More, Fight Less

Gina Senarighi

Communication Skills Every Couple Needs

14 min

3.9

Smart Money Smart Kids

Dave Ramsey & Rachel Cruze

Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money

15 min

4.1

The Clutter Connection

Cassandra Aarssen

How Your Personality Type Determines Why You Organize the Way You Do

17 min

4.5

A Little History of Philosophy

Nigel Warburton

Discover the thinking that shaped the history of philosophy

21 min

4.4

Pegasus

Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud

How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy

Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking

Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life

10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

What happens when an entire generation commits the same crime?

Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In

The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One

25 min

4.2

The Power of Full Engagement

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the key to High Performance and Personal Renewal

22 min

4.4

The ONE Thing

Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results

18 min

4.6

Extreme Ownership

Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

How social isolation and meritocracy cause fear of underachievement and how to solve this

The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

A classic about the psyche and socioeconomic change

21 min

4.5

Never Split the Difference (New Version)

Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

19 min

4.5

Where Good Ideas Come From

Steven Johnson

The Natural History of Innovation

18 min

4.2

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Dale Carnegie

The self-help classic that helps you stop worrying

21 min

4.6

Tiny Beautiful Things

Cheryl Strayed

Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

How to Thrive, Survive, and Feel Alive

Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

Training Your Brain and Body to Thrive During Stress and Recover from Trauma

Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage

How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life

21 min

4.5

The Fourth Turning

William Strauss and Neil Howe

An American Prophecy

23 min

4.5

The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger

A Coming-Of-Age Classic on Belonging and Teenage Alienation

A New Science of Consciousness

Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All

Downsizing Your Way to a Richer, Happier Life

A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships

17 min

4.3

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.