Abstract :
The author is a philosopher/motorcycle mechanic who has applied his academic skills to describe his life??s passion. Growing up, Crawford worked in a car shop and as an apprentice electrician, developing a fondness for working with his hands. When his Ph.D in political philosophy steered him toward a job he hated at a ??think-tank,?? he returned to the trades and now owns and operates an independent motorcycle repair shop. The author\´s main premise is that ??work is meaningful because it is genuinely useful?? Rather than developing vague notions of self-esteem from peer interactions, physical labor provides a strong sense of accomplishment. Crawford also argues that ??teamwork has made it diffi cult to trace individual responsibilities." By moving away from the apprentice/master model, individuals develop less of a sense of their own personal worth. While Crawford makes a strong point that it is unfair for workers and bad for society to devalue skilled manual labor, his argument is undercut by his reverence for the blatantly anti-woman aspects of these workplaces. The trades need to recognize that the low representation of women is a problem for both women and men. If the trades want to bolster their numbers and foster a positive community, they need to appeal to women.
