In an article on The New Yorker, titled “Out of the Office”, written by Kelefa Sanneh, some interesting arguments about progress are made. Sanneh talks about the book Shop Class as Soulcraft written by Matthew Crawford. In the book Crawford describes his experience quitting his prestigious job to open a shop that fixes motorcycles. Long story short, Crawford’s book is about how he’s so happy about his “small shop” and that everyone should do the same! He is an anti-big-corporation advocate.

The article discusses the notion of change, and how it is so engrained in American politics (Democrats and Republicans) with a very positive connotation. Change, progress, forward. .. And in theory, it seems that something is good when it advances. Going back is falling behind. After learning about chain supply and operations, I started thinking about the inevitability of big corporations. The “big guys” in an industry are usually the ones with cheaper prices and greater productivity. Both business and life are competitions. Imagine if you put hundred children in a new planet. Hierarchies would probably rise, some would be stronger, or better at different things. Groups would appear, and although there might be alliances and peace, it is hard to imagine that each kid had the exact same power as the others. The same happens in capitalist economies.

So, which one is better? Big corporations that offer cheaper, good products or local “happily-made” products?