The distinguished sociologist Richard Sennett surveys major differences between earlier forms of industrial capitalism and the more global, more febrile, ever more mutable version of capitalism that is taking its place. He shows how these changes affect everyday life--how the work ethic is changing; how new beliefs about merit and talent displace old values of craftsmanship and achievement; how what Sennett calls "the specter of uselessness" haunts professionals as well as manual workers; how the boundary between consumption and politics is dissolving.

In recent years, reformers of both...

Respect can be attained by gaining success, by developing talents, through financial independence and by helping others. In this title, the author argues that many who are not able to achieve the demands of today's meritocracy lose the esteem that should be given to them.

Here, Sennett writes first of the tension between the public and private realms in which we live, arguing that different types of behaviour and activity are appropriate in each. He believes that the barrier between these different realms has been eroded, through capitalism and the secularization of society, and that this breakdown is so profound that public man has been left with no certain idea of his role in society. Sennett sees the development of the city as the single most important element of the social change he describes, and puts his argument in its historical perspective through an...

This text presents a philosophically-minded enquiry into the idea of craftsmanship. It is divided into three parts: addressing the craftsman at work; the development of skill; and whether motivation counts for more than talent.

Living with people who differ - racially, ethnically, religiously or economically - is one of the most urgent challenges facing civil society. This book argues that co-operation needs more than good will: it is a craft that requires skill. It explores the nature of co-operation, why it has become weak and how it can be strengthened.

Thank god for Richard Sennett ... essential reading for all students of the city Anna Minton, Prospect
Constantly stimulating ideas from a veteran of urban thinking Jonathan Meades, Guardian

In Building and Dwelling, Richard Sennett distils a lifetimes thinking and practical experience to explore the relationship between the good built environment and the good life. He argues for, and describes in rich detail, the idea of an open city, one in which people learn to manage complexity. He shows how the design of cities can enrich or diminish the everyday experience of those who dwell in...

In 1970, Richard Sennett published the groundbreaking The Uses of Disorder, arguing that the ideal of a planned and ordered city was flawed. Fifty years later, Sennett returns to these still fertile ideas and, alongside campaigner and architect Pablo Sendra, sets out an agenda for the design and ethics of the Open City. The public spaces of our cities are under siege from planners, privatisation and increased surveillance. Our streets are becoming ever more lifeless and ordered. What is to be done? Can disorder be designed? In this provocative essay Sendra and Sennett propose a...