Head, Hand, Heart: Why Intelligence Is Over-Rewarded, Manual Workers Matter, and Caregivers Deserve More Respect

In this provocative and probing account, British journalist Goodhart (The Road to Somewhere) decries the rise of an entitled “cognitive class” at the expense of skilled and semiskilled laborers and caregivers. Though Western societies once rewarded artisans, farmers, and factory workers with decent pay and genuine respect, Goodhart writes, a college degree “has become the only route to respect and prestige,” even in occupations, such as policing and nursing, “with only high school graduate cognitive requirements.” The result, he contends, is increased social division and the perception among ordinary people that more educated lawmakers don’t really care what they want. Goodhart deplores “the destruction of union power” in the U.K. and U.S. since the 1980s, and the obscuring effect of “management-speak” and “politically motivated euphemisms.” He explains how the plain speaking of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson helped them forge bonds with common people, though he underplays the xenophobic undertones of their populist messaging. While the early chapters feel intentionally controversial, Goodhart transitions into a reasonable call for better pay for caregivers and teachers, and presents an appealing vision of a future in which “cognitive diversity” is the norm and the job market isn’t flooded with overqualified graduates. The result is a deeply felt and persuasive call for rethinking the social order. Agent: Susanna Lea. (Sept.)