Summary of Shop Class as Soulcraft

Matthew B. Crawford earned his PhD while working as an electrician and motorcycle mechanic. After receiving his degree, Crawford headed a prestigious think tank in Washington, DC. In only months, he became dissatisfied with the abstract nature of his work and the internal politics that seemed more important than any results. He left and opened a vintage motorcycle repair shop. Working with his hands on intractable mechanical beasts granted him insight into his own intellectual and metaphysical processes. He found working with his hands on complex mechanical problems often more intellectually satisfying than the rigorous intellectual work he earned his doctorate to perform. Crawford decided to investigate his own processes and America’s history of, and attitudes toward, skilled manual labor. Thus, he parses the meaning of labor in the Internet age and bemoans a society where repairing what you own has become a lost art. getAbstract recommends these thoughtful essays to those whose day job doesn’t satisfy their soul, who love motorcycles or who would rather be in a workshop than at a desk.