Craft-orientation as a mode of organizing for postgrowth society

Abstract

How may a “craft-orientation” facilitate a shift toward an ecologically sustainable economy that does not perceive the pursuit of economic growth as a self-evident good? Responding to this question, this paper is rooted in the argument that efforts to increase economic growth collide with ecological sustainability goals and pose a substantial threat to human prosperity. Drawing on key insights from scholarship on craft, we establish the notion of craft-orientation, understood as (i) activity guided by the desire to do a job well for its own sake, (ii) prioritization of human engagement over machine control, standardization and efficiency, and (iii) an epistemic rather than instrumental relationship to objects of production. By linking this orientation to postgrowth ideas, we advance knowledge of the relationship between craft and sustainability in three related ways. First, we add craft-orientation to the postgrowth toolbox by conceptualizing craft as a mode of organization that embodies and concretizes postgrowth ideas. This particularly involves the need to rethink efficiency and labor-intensiveness, the role of technology, and the localization of production and consumption. Second, addressing craft scholarship that seeks to understand the relationship between craft and sustainability, we strengthen the relevance of craft in discussions on sustainability by linking it with the concept of postgrowth. Third, grounded in the ontological assumption that the formulation of alternatives is performative, we situate our conceptualization of craft within current societal movements and show how these movements create enabling conditions for the future influence of craft-orientation as an important mode of organizing for postgrowth society.