The Separation of Thinking from Doing

It comes down to a loss of freedom. Within the past 100 years our freedom to create and think as an individual have been taken away by scientific management and centralized authority. We have allowed a routinization to separate thinking from doing. Crawford points out that these liberal ideas breed irresponsibility. We no longer know how to make things, or problem solve because we have given the power over to a few elite experts who train us to do our menial task within the system. I feel inspired to take back cognitive work and butt our system, but I know I am an young idealist. Well, for now all I can do is seek to work in a more independent and comprehensive manner.

People are always seeking happiness, and it seems the more technology and consumer goods we have the less happy we are. I think there is a link between our loss of ownership and hands-on production. There are many reasons for true happiness, but I think that one way to experience true happiness is when we can see the results from the use of our cognitive mind. Humans gain satisfaction in a job well done and one that is done with the use of their real creative powers (not a few options to choose from that our boss gave us). It seems almost counter-cultural (in my American context) to think that real work might lead to happiness, but it may be the answer.