Category: The Anarchist’s Tool Chest

When a Craftsman of to-day sets to work to make a chair, the knowledge which he takes so much for granted is the stored-up inheritance of generations of craftsmen who had preceded him. He is profiting by their discoveries, their failures, and adding whatever of its own particular worth in new processes the present age has to offer.

Only in our own age the ratio of skilled craftsmen is diminishing, and with so much that is good and civilised in process of being destroyed, one wonders how much will survive.

— The Woodworker, February 1943

For the rules that appear to limit and bind stand as guides along the highway, safeguarding us from the waste and misuse of the material of our lives — our gifts and talents, our health and strength, and relationships with others. And the true freedom, which is the freedom to use our powers to the fullest extent, comes from observing them.

— The Woodworker, March 1955

All told then, it is quite a good idea to remember the advice of Dr. Primrose in “The Vicar of Wakefield,” who chose his wife on account of her good wearing qualities. Possibly it will not give you the immediate thrill that something rather more flamboyant would have done, but in the long run you will be the better pleased.

— The Woodworker, January 1955

The industrial system has brought with it tremendous advantages. It means we are living at a far higher standard of comfort than our forefathers, and with far more leisure. But it is always working towards uniformity, the dead level only minimizes costs and increases output.

If we are going not only to acquiesce but to follow blindly where it leads, then we shall get standardization – and deserve it.

If we, as craftsmen, still keep our judgments keen and our tastes discriminating; if, that is to say, we persist in being individuals still, we can do something to stem the tide. But those children, who have gone out into the very heart of their own land and seen for themselves, and weighed things in the balance as children do, I think they will do even more.

— The Woodworker, April 1940

To be a man is to be responsible: To be ashamed of miseries you did not cause; to be proud of your comrades’ victories; to be aware, when setting one stone, that you are building a world.

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, (1900-1944) French writer, aviator, from “Terre des Hommes” (1939).