Le soin des choses
Politiques de la maintenance
by Jérôme Denis and David Pontille
published by La Découverte
Qu’ont en commun une chaudière, une voiture, un panneau de signalétique, un smartphone, une cathédrale, une œuvre d’art, un satellite, un lave-linge, un pont, une horloge, un serveur informatique, le corps d’un illustre homme d’État, un tracteur ? Presque rien, si ce n’est qu’aucune de ces choses, petite ou grande, précieuse ou banale, ne perdure sans une forme d’entretien. Tout objet s’use, se dégrade, finit par se casser, voire par disparaître. Pour autant, mesure-t-on bien l’importance de la maintenance ? Contrepoint de l’obsession contemporaine pour l’innovation, moins spectaculaire que l’acte singulier de la réparation, cet art délicat de faire durer les choses n’est que très rarement porté à notre attention.
Ce livre est une invitation à décentrer le regard en mettant au premier plan la maintenance et celles et ceux qui l’accomplissent. En suivant le fil de différentes histoires, ses auteurs décrivent les subtilités du « soin des choses » pour en souligner les enjeux éthiques et la portée politique. Parce que s’y cultive une attention sensible à la fragilité et que s’y invente au jour le jour une diplomatie matérielle qui résiste au rythme effréné de l’obsolescence programmée et de la surconsommation, la maintenance dessine les contours d’un monde à l’écart des prétentions de la toute-puissance des humains et de l’autonomie technologique. Un monde où se déploient des formes d’attachement aux choses bien moins triviales que l’on pourrait l’imaginer.
What do a furnace, a car, a signpost, a smartphone, a cathedral, a work of art, a satellite, a washing machine, a bridge, a clock, a computer server, the body of an illustrious statesman, or a tractor have in common? Almost nothing, except that none of these things, small or large, precious or banal, lasts without some form of maintenance. Every object wears out, degrades, eventually breaks, or even disappears. However, do we really grasp the importance of maintenance? As a counterpoint to the contemporary obsession with innovation, and less spectacular than the singular act of repair, this delicate art of making things last is only very rarely brought to our attention.
This book is an invitation to shift the focus to maintenance and those who perform it. By following the thread of different stories, its authors describe the subtleties of “caring for things” in order to underline its ethical stakes and its political significance. Because of the sensitive attention to fragility that is cultivated and because a material diplomacy that resists the frantic rhythm of programmed obsolescence and overconsumption is invented on a daily basis, maintenance outlines the contours of a world away from the pretensions of human omnipotence and technological autonomy. A world where forms of attachment to things are much less trivial than one might imagine.
Jérôme Denis et David Pontille. Le soin des choses. Politiques de la maintenance. Paris, La Découverte, 2022.
In the wake of the publication of the book – In the press & on the radio:
Jérôme Denis, and philosopher Fanny Lederlin, were guests on the La Terre au Carré program presented on France Inter by Mathieu Vidard. The December 13, 2023 program was entitled Bricolage et maintenance : le soin des choses [DIY and maintenance: the care of things].
In a world obsessed with disposability and innovation, are we really aware of the importance of DIY and maintenance? Paying more attention to objects and things offers a new perspective on the world and an incentive to reduce waste.
Tinkering and maintenance involve the body, as in all those essential behind-the-scenes jobs such as maintenance work during the Covid epidemic, or the work of the men and women in metro maintenance. Jérome Denis met Nadine, operator of the Quai de la gare station on line 6, who inspects the platforms every morning with a watchful eye, paying particular attention to ensure that traffic and users don’t notice a thing. Then there is José, who tracks down graffiti and, with a flick of his wrist, gauges the signs and estimates the repairs needed. They are connoisseurs with an eye for detail. It’s a different relationship to objects, and therefore to the world. Like collecting, recycling is one of the activities inherent to tinkering, which, making do with what’s at hand, also has to “make do” with waste.
Listen to the podcast (in French). Duration: 54mn
C’est mieux quand ça dure : prendre soin des objets [It’s better when it lasts: taking care of things]. David Pontille is interviewed in the programme Vivons heureux avant la fin du monde # 20. Text, voice, sound recording and editing by Delphine Saltel, production, mixing and original music by Daphné Paysage, illustration by Raphaëlle Macaron. Produced by ARTE Radio. Online since 15 June 2023.
« Dans un robinet, il y a le monde » / ” In a tap, there is the world “
What is our relationship with objects? Boilers, suitcases, digital tablets, umbrellas? All these precious or trivial things we use every day to facilitate our lives, but pay little attention to. Can we continue to throw them away as soon as their battery dies or thier casing has a dent? When we know full well that the natural resources needed to manufacture them are running out? that sea turtles swim surrounded by refrigerator carcasses? Why are we so incapable of repairing them? Why are we so uninterested in what goes on inside their mechanisms? And does an object really belong to us if we can’t repair it?
Listen to the podcast (in French). Duration: 26mn
Interview with Jérôme Denis and David Pontille by Fabien Trécourt (June 7, 2023) Prendre soin des choses, un nouvel horizon pour la société [Taking care of things, a new horizon for society]. CNRS Le Journal.
Maintaining your home, restoring a monument, repairing a washing machine… In their essay “Le Soin des choses”, sociologists Jérôme Denis and David Pontille draw inspiration from maintenance jobs and the people who do them, to imagine a less consumerist model of society.
Jérôme Denis was the guest on the Tribu program hosted by Julien Magnollay, historian, journalist and producer of the program on RTS, Radio Télévision Suisse francophone.
The February 21, 2023 episode was entitled Prendre soin des choses [Taking care of things].
What does our attention to taking care of things say? Making things last, instead of replacing them. What is the intention of the people who do it? What’s apparent in the sensitive gestures of those who care for objects to prevent them from deteriorating, breaking or disappearing? Tribu discusses these issues with Jérôme Denis, Professor of Sociology at Mines Paris-PSL. Together with David Pontille, CNRS Senior Research Fellow, he is the author of “Le soin des choses. Politiques de la maintenance”, published by La Découverte.
Listen to the podcast (in French). Duration: 26mn
Jérôme Denis and David Pontille took part in the France Culture program, Avec Philosphie, presented by Géraldine Muhlmann, alongside Catherine Larrère, philosopher and a specialist in ethical and political issues related to the environmental crisis and new technologies.
The radio program – which is the third episode of a series entitled “Are we all vulnerable?” – asked the question: Can vulnerability be thought of as a property of living beings, or even a property of objects? Does it make sense to say that we must “take care” of nature and objects?
Broadcasted on Wednesday, November 30, 2022 (duration 58 mn).
Listen to the podcast (in French).
Jérôme Denis and David Pontille were the guests of Sylvain Bourmeau’s program La Suite dans les idées on France Culture.
The program entitled Ici et maintenance: prendre soin des choses, was devoted to the book by Jérôme Denis and David Pontille Le soin des choses. Politiques de la maintenance. The choreographer Sylvie Balestra, who imagined an encyclopedia of the worker’s gesture, was invited in the second part of the program to join the discussion around the questions of the care of things and maintenance.
Broadcasted on Saturday, December 3, 2022 (48 mn).
Listen to the podcast (in French).