In the public eye: C.G. Beck’s “The Labor of Architecture”
The Labor of Architecture: Creativity, Design, and the Building of a New Class Consciousness examines the social and historical narratives that led to the illusory division between the “working class” and the “creative class.” In popular imagination, as author C.G. Beck observes, the architect is a singular genius, obsessively working alone in the studio. Surrounded by beautiful drawings and intricate models, the architect wrestles only with themselves and the purity of their design. This is certainly no longer the case—and perhaps never was. From the standpoint of the architect and the union organizer, The Labor of Architecture confronts the myths and realities of the profession, advocating for a solidarity-based union movement to help build a more just society.
DIGEST: IN THE PUBLIC EYE
Financial Times’ best books of 2025? A new release from MRP about architects as workers
The Financial Times just listed the newly released book The Labor of Architecture as one of its chosen titles among the Best Books of 2025 in the category of Art, Architecture and Design! How odd. Many congratulations to author C.G. Beck for getting the word out to new audiences about the efforts of architects to be recognized as workers. We don’t know what it means for the word “Marxist” to be mentioned in such a publication in a positive sense, but we would like to acknowledge it can be quite a feat. See below:
At The People’s Forum:
This fall C. G. Beck hosted Democracy at Work’s Professor Richard D. Wolff for a conversation about labor and democracy at The People’s Forum. Building off the success of the Zohran Mamdani campaign for mayor of NYC, they discussed the role of unions in shaping workplaces and strengthening democracy in a moment of profound historical change. Stay tuned for a recording of the dynamic talk, which you will find here.
This list of press is far from complete! If you see any additional press, please feel free to send it to [email protected].
If you would rather listen to a Billy Bragg song while pondering the words of Marx directly, rather than reading the Financial Times, watch this short clip below or head to the MR YouTube page.
