Takeaway: There are pleasures and value in physical labor that should not be degraded.
The best line in Shop Class as Soulcraft is “Work is toilsome and necessarily serves someone else’s interest. That’s why you get paid.” That bit is wisdom is important. Work is not designed to be the great fulfillment in life. But work can be fulfilling.
This book as a whole has a very interesting point. An the author, using his own very interesting work history, is a great example. Crawford has worked as a mechanic (and currently works as a mechanic in his own shop), an electrician, the head of a Washington think tank, and a ‘knowledge worker’. He has a PhD from University of Chicago but learn mechanics from the apprenticeship that is common of the physical trades.