The instinct of workmanship, and the state of industrial arts

"The Instinct of Workmanship and the State of Industrial Arts" by Thorstein Veblen is a publication that tackles the link between what drives humans, especially the need to create, and how different cultures have built their technologies. Setting the scene for how things are made, the book suggests that our work habits and progress as a society come from natural human tendencies, impacting our social order. The author begins by talking about these inherent behaviors, explaining that our workflows and cultural growth are strongly tied to our inborn leanings. While downplaying the importance of "instinct" in today's science, Veblen argues it's key for understanding the growth of society. The beginning of the book makes it clear that what people do is steered by these basic drives, laying the foundation for a bigger look at how these tendencies link up with the progress of craftsmanship and technology, and that the growth of industry comes from the mix of these drives and how we evolve as a people.