This paper aims to discuss the influence of managerialism in the organization of local craft in the context of the Brazilian neoliberal reformations of the 1980s -1990s. By examining documents which contain the directives of these policies, we face a discourse that imposes the formation of an enterprising mentality, mainly through the attaining of short-term training courses. Therefore, we reflect if the enterprization of craftwork can really be synonymous with development, i.e. if giving a new meaning to the craftsperson under the epithet of entrepreneurs, and imposing changes on their work philosophy, is something welcome and desirable. The originality of this work consists in its highlighting that policies of this nature tend to massify the production, the consumption and the taste for cultural goods, and moreover to cause an uncritical acceptance of what we call subordinate entrepreneurship.