Fordism

Lore & Background

Fordism is a manufacturing system designed to produce standardized, low-cost goods and afford its workers decent enough wages to buy them. It has also been described as a model of economic expansion and technological progress based on mass production: the manufacture of standardized products in huge volumes using special purpose machinery and unskilled labor. Although Fordism was a method used to improve productivity in the automotive industry, the principle could be applied to any kind of manufacturing process. Major success stemmed from three major principles: the standardization of the product, the employment of assembly lines, and workers being paid higher living wages so they could afford to purchase the products they make. After five years of producing automobiles, Ford introduced the Model T, which was simple and light but sturdy enough to drive on the country's primitive roads. The mass production of this automobile lowered its unit price, making it affordable for the average consumer. Ford substantially increased his workers' wages to combat rampant absenteeism and employee turnover, which approached 400% annually, with the byproduct of giving them the means to become customers. The Model T attained a peak of 60% of the automobile output within the United States. Since then, it has been used by a number of writers on economics and society, mainly but not exclusively in the Marxist tradition. According to historian Charles S. Maier, Fordism proper was preceded in Europe by Taylorism.

Reader's Guide

Fordism's significance lies in its transformation of manufacturing and labor relations, creating a system that linked mass production with mass consumption. By standardizing products and using assembly lines with unskilled labor, Fordism dramatically cut production costs and manpower needs. The decision to pay workers higher wages not only reduced turnover but also turned them into consumers, fueling a virtuous circle of growth. This model became dominant in the post-war economic boom and influenced socioeconomic theory, particularly through Antonio Gramsci's analysis. Fordism also impacted global industrial development; the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s enthusiastically embraced Fordism and Taylorism, importing American experts and engineering firms. The concepts of the Five-Year Plan and centrally-planned economy can be traced to Taylorism's influence on Soviet thinking. Later, the period after Fordism has been termed Post-Fordist and Neo-Fordist, with the Regulation School preferring the term After-Fordism to denote uncertainty about what comes next. Fordism's legacy includes both its productive efficiencies and its negative elements, such as economic inequality, which persisted into later phases of globalization.

Did You Know?

• Henry Ford and his senior managers did not use the word 'Fordism' themselves to describe their motivations or worldview.
• The assembly line had existed before Ford, although not with the same effectiveness; his real accomplishment was recognizing the potential by breaking tasks down into components.
• Fordism was preceded in Europe by Taylorism, a technique of labor discipline and workplace organization based on supposedly scientific studies of human efficiency.
• The Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s enthusiastically embraced Fordism and Taylorism, importing American experts and engineering firms.