Head Hand Heart cover art

Head Hand Heart

The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century

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Head Hand Heart

By: David Goodhart
Narrated by: David Goodhart
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A good society needs a balance between aptitudes relating to head (cognitive), hand (manual/craft) and heart (caring/emotional). In recent decades in Western societies, they have got out of kilter. One form of human aptitude - cognitive ability - has become the gold standard of human esteem.

The cognitive class now shapes society and largely in its own interests: in the knowledge economy, the over-expansion of higher education and in the very idea of a successful life. To put it bluntly: smart people have become too powerful.

David Goodhart, who in his last book described the divide between the worldviews of the Anywheres and Somewheres, now reveals the story of a cognitive takeover that has gathered pace in the past 40 years.

As recently as the 1970s most people left school without qualifications, now in the UK almost 40 per cent of jobs are graduate-only. He shows how we are now reaching 'Peak Head' as the knowledge economy needs fewer knowledge workers, yet there is a crisis of recruitment in caring jobs.

A democratic society that wants to avoid widespread disaffection must respect and reward a broad range of achievement covering both cognitive and non-cognitive aptitudes and must provide meaning and value for people who cannot or do not want to achieve in the classroom and professional career market. This is the story of the struggle for status and dignity in the 21st century.

©2020 David Goodhart (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Labor & Industrial Relations Political Science Politics & Government Social justice Capitalism Socialism 21st Century Career
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Most relevant
I think David has touched on something alot of the ‘hand and heart’ working class have been thinking for a long time.

It was great listening to this book on my headphones while working away on the building site.

Thanks
Ben Greenwood

Politicians should be talking about this.

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