Justin McGuirk
Selected writing 2005 – 2015
  • About
  • Category
  • Title
  • Publication
  • Year
  • Reviews
  • Together by Richard Sennett
  • Art Review
  • 2012
Justin McGuirk
Selected writing 2005 – 2015
  • Together by Richard Sennett

Two books into a trilogy that he calls “the homo faber project”, the sociologist and philosopher Richard Sennett is revealing just what an ambitious task he has set himself. It is no less than to investigate the skills we need “to sustain everyday life”. Along the way, he is developing an uncanny knack of tuning into the zeitgeist through what seems like a crackly old wireless. In The Craftsman, Sennett demonstrated that true craftsmanship stems from a desire to do a job well for its own sake. With consumer culture in the grip of craft fetishism and global brands desperately trying to market their goods as “handmade”, it was an incredibly timely book that used the medieval guilds and the workshop of Antonio Stradivari to expound its thesis. Now comes Together, a book about the art of cooperation that appears tailor made for this febrile moment of social networking, the Arab Spring and the 99% movement. And yet none of those phenomena feature in it.

Sennett’s central idea is that as individuals and as a society we need to learn how to engage with those who are different from ourselves. Bridging social inequality and ethnic or religious differences requires cooperation. And cooperation, he argues, building on the previous book, is essentially a craft. Charting its historical development, Sennett takes us from chivalric conduct to the rules of civility set down for renaissance princes by Balthasar Castiglione to the rituals of modern diplomacy. But rather than simply a history of human social skills, this is an analysis of how effective or not different methods of engagement are. Sennett argues for a dialogic approach – one conducive to an open-ended dialogue – rather than a dialectical one, which takes opposition for granted. Thus Castiglione’s sprezzatura, the prince’s lightness of manner, or the indirectness of British speech, with all our “mights” and “possiblies”, are tools that leave room for empathy and agreement.

Though interesting in themselves, such insights start to carry real weight when Sennett uses them to prove that particular social and political systems are structured in ways that inhibit mutual understanding. For instance, consumer society is inherently divisive because, as every marketer knows, it promotes “invidious comparison” – that feeling of inadequacy that ensues from your friend’s TV being better than yours. Similarly, finance capitalism Sennett finds to be intrinsically uncivil – not just because it contributes nothing to society, but because of a lack of cooperation between management and their staff. Authority is also a skill, and it involves listening to some back-room underling when he tries to tell you that the numbers don’t add up.

But if finance capitalism is not dialogical, then neither is its opposite: Marxism. Sennett argues that one of the historical failures of the Left is its focus on solidarity. Such dialectical, us-against-them togetherness is simply designed to fail because it precludes cooperation. It’s an astute piece of reasoning. And, despite it, Sennett remains optimistic. As he demonstrates, the tools of cooperation have been honed over the centuries, we just need to practice our craft.

In every sense, this is a book for our times. As Sennett states, “modern society is in urgent need of repair”, with widening inequality, growing tension over immigration, dwindling employment and diminishing trust. Meanwhile, with all our social media, our social skills wilt and we email our colleague at the neighbouring desk. So why isn’t the challenge viewed through contemporary issues? Sennett barely touches on social networking, except to point out that kids are becoming machine-dependent for friendship. Nor does he mention the recent wave of popular uprisings and the rise of a political discourse, in the Occupy movement, that emphasises the collective good. One reason is that most of this book will have been written before those events occurred. Yet he makes room for a coda, and then dedicates it to Michel de Montaigne. It’s a frustrating decision. But there is a lifetime of learning in this volume, and Sennett is as absorbing a thinker as ever. He leaves me full of anticipation for the final book in the trilogy, on the craft of city-making.

Justin McGuirk
Selected writing 2005 – 2015
  • Category
  • Title
  • Publication
  • Year
  • Architecture Activist architects Al Jazeera 2014
  • Architecture Djenné’s mud mosque Icon 2010
  • Architecture Honeywell, I’m home! e-flux journal 2015
  • Architecture Maison Dom-ino Dezeen 2014
  • Architecture PREVI, Lima Domus 2011
  • Architecture Revolutionary housing in Argentina Domus 2011
  • Architecture Robin Hood Gardens SQM 2014
  • Architecture The Base, Chocó Nuevotopias 2013
  • Architecture The High Line Icon 2009
  • Architecture Walter Benjamin puts activists to shame? Here 2013
  • Cities Beirut Icon 2006
  • Cities DIY cities (the limitations) Uncube 2014
  • Cities Edge City (São Paulo) Strelka Press 2012
  • Cities How radical is Radical Urbanism? Catalogue 2015
  • Cities Istanbul Icon 2010
  • Cities Jenin Icon 2005
  • Cities Life on the edge Moscow Urban Forum 2013
  • Cities Seoul Condé Nast Traveller 2012
  • Cities Shenzhen Icon 2008
  • Cities Unreal estate (London) Domus 2012
  • Cities Urban commons The Guardian 2015
  • Design Adventure gear The Guardian 2010
  • Design Beneath the street, the wilderness: Occupy and Bear Grylls Here 2012
  • Design Craft fetishism The Guardian 2011
  • Design Craft fetishism: From objects to things Disegno 2012
  • Design Design and the Right Domus 2013
  • Design Design and violence Dezeen 2013
  • Design Dreaming of year zero Bio 50 2014
  • Design Fabbers, dabblers and microstars Icon 2009
  • Design London riots The Guardian 2011
  • Design Luxury watch culture The Guardian 2010
  • Design Milan’s PR economy The Guardian 2011
  • Design On William Gibson on design Dezeen 2014
  • Design Open design Dezeen 2014
  • Design Samsung vs Apple Domus 2013
  • Design The internet of broken things Dezeen 2014
  • Design The post-spectacular economy Van Abbemuseum 2011
  • Design Ultramundane Domus 2013
  • People Alejandro Aravena Icon 2009
  • People Do Ho Suh Icon 2008
  • People Enzo Mari Icon 2009
  • People Ettore Sottsass Icon 2007
  • People Francis Kere Icon 2010
  • People Richard Sapper Domus 2013
  • Reviews Cool Tools by Kevin Kelly Dezeen 2014
  • Reviews Hearts of the City by Herbert Muschamp Icon 2010
  • Reviews Latin America in Construction at MoMA Architectural Record 2015
  • Reviews Mad Max: Fury Road Dezeen 2015
  • Reviews Max Bill Icon 2010
  • Reviews Philips shaver Icon 2008
  • Reviews Postmodernism at the V&A The Guardian 2010
  • Reviews Rebel Cities by David Harvey Art Review 2012
  • Reviews The Craftsman by Richard Sennett Icon 2008
  • Reviews The Historical Museum, Sarajevo The Guardian 2011
  • Reviews Together by Richard Sennett Art Review 2012
Justin McGuirk
Selected writing 2005 – 2015
  • Reviews
  • Together by Richard Sennett
  • Art Review
  • 2012
Back to Index

Two books into a trilogy that he calls “the homo faber project”, the sociologist and philosopher Richard Sennett is revealing just what an ambitious task he has set himself. It is no less than to investigate the skills we need “to sustain everyday life”. Along the way, he is developing an uncanny knack of tuning into the zeitgeist through what seems like a crackly old wireless. In The Craftsman, Sennett demonstrated that true craftsmanship stems from a desire to do a job well for its own sake. With consumer culture in the grip of craft fetishism and global brands desperately trying to market their goods as “handmade”, it was an incredibly timely book that used the medieval guilds and the workshop of Antonio Stradivari to expound its thesis. Now comes Together, a book about the art of cooperation that appears tailor made for this febrile moment of social networking, the Arab Spring and the 99% movement. And yet none of those phenomena feature in it.

Sennett’s central idea is that as individuals and as a society we need to learn how to engage with those who are different from ourselves. Bridging social inequality and ethnic or religious differences requires cooperation. And cooperation, he argues, building on the previous book, is essentially a craft. Charting its historical development, Sennett takes us from chivalric conduct to the rules of civility set down for renaissance princes by Balthasar Castiglione to the rituals of modern diplomacy. But rather than simply a history of human social skills, this is an analysis of how effective or not different methods of engagement are. Sennett argues for a dialogic approach – one conducive to an open-ended dialogue – rather than a dialectical one, which takes opposition for granted. Thus Castiglione’s sprezzatura, the prince’s lightness of manner, or the indirectness of British speech, with all our “mights” and “possiblies”, are tools that leave room for empathy and agreement.

Though interesting in themselves, such insights start to carry real weight when Sennett uses them to prove that particular social and political systems are structured in ways that inhibit mutual understanding. For instance, consumer society is inherently divisive because, as every marketer knows, it promotes “invidious comparison” – that feeling of inadequacy that ensues from your friend’s TV being better than yours. Similarly, finance capitalism Sennett finds to be intrinsically uncivil – not just because it contributes nothing to society, but because of a lack of cooperation between management and their staff. Authority is also a skill, and it involves listening to some back-room underling when he tries to tell you that the numbers don’t add up.

But if finance capitalism is not dialogical, then neither is its opposite: Marxism. Sennett argues that one of the historical failures of the Left is its focus on solidarity. Such dialectical, us-against-them togetherness is simply designed to fail because it precludes cooperation. It’s an astute piece of reasoning. And, despite it, Sennett remains optimistic. As he demonstrates, the tools of cooperation have been honed over the centuries, we just need to practice our craft.

In every sense, this is a book for our times. As Sennett states, “modern society is in urgent need of repair”, with widening inequality, growing tension over immigration, dwindling employment and diminishing trust. Meanwhile, with all our social media, our social skills wilt and we email our colleague at the neighbouring desk. So why isn’t the challenge viewed through contemporary issues? Sennett barely touches on social networking, except to point out that kids are becoming machine-dependent for friendship. Nor does he mention the recent wave of popular uprisings and the rise of a political discourse, in the Occupy movement, that emphasises the collective good. One reason is that most of this book will have been written before those events occurred. Yet he makes room for a coda, and then dedicates it to Michel de Montaigne. It’s a frustrating decision. But there is a lifetime of learning in this volume, and Sennett is as absorbing a thinker as ever. He leaves me full of anticipation for the final book in the trilogy, on the craft of city-making.

Back to Index

Login

Forgotten Password?

Lost your password?
Back to Login