Dear Ruth, as a humanist, what I write is always about the ordinary person in their unique personal pursuits, however humble---Tolstoy in his CONFESSIONS extolled the virtues of common people and added that he was inspired by the way they bore pain and hardship.  

Another thought in my mind when I wrote about learning was this: society largely belongs to the intelligentsia who are the catalyst of growth and generator of ideas, and menial workers/artisans/those who never went to colleges are often overlooked--yet the roles played by such people complement what the knowledge workers do and, without them, roads will never be swept, toilets will not be cleaned, cars will not be repaired, shoes won't be mended, our hair will not be cut, our clothes would not be made---we would die for want of good food as there won't be chefs around!

Society is segregated by skills.....I must leave this to the sociologists.