The Craftsman versus the Industrial Complex

[DWFII]

The masses can not afford 'elite pieces of art' (whether it be clothing, shoes, paintings, etc). We live within our means or we live without. To only purchase 'pieces of art' on an average person's salary would be irresponsible.

I'm not talking about elite pieces of art...nor, in a broader sense, was Kipling...

And there was a time when if you didn't have a pair of handmade shoes, you didn't have shoes. And somehow people got by. The "art" they hung on their wall was of their own making. The music of their own making. Kind of like the Internet, those connections connections fostered other connections. And so they saved to have a kilt. They saved to have shoes.

And as an aside they took care of (maintained) those things. [shock]

There was a time and place in the US when if you worked more than two hours a day it was because you didn't have land and/or slaves to work it. It is significant that at the turn of the 19th century workers all across the board were incensed by what was known at the time as "wage slavery." Even then, when society might have taken a different path, they felt the breaking of connections ...felt their lives slipping out of their control.

Today much of what supports our "prosperity" is based on the exploitation of other people. Much of our prosperity...maybe near-as-nevermind all of it...is based on passing the real cost onto our children and our grandchildren.

Today the masses live on someone else's blood sweat and tears ...one way or the other.

Craftsmen...of any stripe...seldom get paid what they're worth. And yet in a sense which is seldom addressed or equaled, what they produce has a real value that does not pass the cost on to others.

Anthony Delos probably comes close to getting a reasonable wage ($5000.00 per pair). But that only means compensation for hours worked equivalent to what most people in this country get working at middle class jobs.

No disrespect intended and with the acknowledgement that I am speculating (based on other people, many other people I've known) but I suspect that for most of my 40 years in the business I have worked longer hours and for lower wage than perhaps anyone in this discussion with the possible exception of Rocky. (Being the "master"of your own workshop" is not the easiest row to hoe.)

Yet I own my own home, two Scottish wool kilts, one handmade for me, and have no outstanding debt. I don't intend to crow about that...I've gotten lucky and I truly have been blessed...but I'm no genius. In another age...maybe even today...I am the very definition of the "masses". If I can do it others surely can.