Fordism

period from 1945 on origins lie in early 20th century introduction of Taylorism Frederick Taylor, 1911, Principles of Scientific Management

 use of scientific knowledge to control each step in the production process time-motion studies crisis of over-production 1930s solution owes much to Henry Ford

standardized product design- Model T standardized parts single purpose machine tools moving assembly line $5/8 hour day

 diffusion of Taylorism and Fordism facilitated by: a) internationalization of technology b) multinational corporation

 Henry Ford and the changing geography of automobile production early dominance partly due to geographic strategy

Why Michigan? a) evolved from older industrial sectors b) surplus unskilled workers c) venture capital d) Ford

Highland Park River Rouge: parts and components the branch assembly plant idea components: S.E. Michigan assembly plants: near the market, NE, S, and W coast

 Only a small percentage of our automobiles are used in or around Detroit, and so we quit being automobile makers excepting for the district, and instead make automotive parts and ship them out to assembly points throughout the country. This saved the cost of final assembly at the factory, of testing, of knocking down the automobile, and crating it, and of paying the extra freight on a bulky piece of machinery like an assembled automobile (Henry Ford).

 Couzens the architect of this scheme similarity to the the principles of industrial location developed by Alfred Weber branches put pieces together a) bulky product b) minimum weight charge c) high rates

Advantages assembly plants: a) minimize wasted space b) lower rates c) favourable local publicity

 Ford influenced the geography of North American automobile manufacture regional divisions of labour locational strategy went hand-in-hand with development of new production process linking mass production with mass consumption

Theorizing Fordism: The French Regulation School

period after 1945 referred to as Fordism (Antonio Gramsci). French economists such as Aglietta, Lipietz, and Boyer how does capitalism resolve inherent crisis tendencies and achieve long periods of stability?

 regime of accumulation: long term stabilization between production and consumption a schema of reproduction describing how labour is allocated and how products are distributed between different departments

 two basic departments: Department I: production of the means of production Department 2: production of articles of consumption

 mode of regulation: set of internalized rules and social procedures which hold a regime together laws, norms, mores, values, forms government intervention, family, other institutions ensure agents conform to the schema of reproduction

 major crises indicate that a mode of regulation is not adequate to a regime of accumulation outdated forms of regulation or potential of a regime of accumulation exhausted

 mode of regulation evolves differently in different nations regimes of accumulation and modes of regulation are chance discoveries made in the context of human struggles

The Fordist regime of accumulation: a) mass production based on principles of Taylor and Ford economies of scale large inventories branch assembly plants horizontal and vertical integration

 leading sectors: automobile production, transport equipment, steel, petrochemicals, synthetic materials, electrical goods

 b) mass consumption national markets homogenous markets

The Fordist mode of regulation Keynesian Welfare State 1.Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal a) First New Deal 1933-35 Civilian Conservation Corps Civil Works Administration Tennessee Valley Authority Reconstruction Finance Corporation

b) Second New Deal 1935-39 Social Security Act (1935) Fair Labour Standards Act (1938) farmers Wagner Act (1935) FHA (Federal Housing Adminstration) Mortgage Insurance Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

 central to Fordist mode of regulation is the Keynesian Welfare State (KWS) 2. John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. 1936

 against liquidationism employment depends on volume of demand and volume of public and private investments advocated government intervention- use of fiscal policy

infrastructural projects priming the pump along with Harry White architect of Bretton Woods (1944)

U.N. Monetary and Financial Conference representatives of 44 countries rules for new international monetary system fixed exchange rates gold-dollar standard

 creation of International Monetary Fund (1944) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) now- World Bank

 National variations in Fordism Canadas version- Permeable Fordism

The Crisis of Fordism regime of accumulation a) declining productivity rates b) divergence productivity and wages c) international competition d) internationalization of production e) structural overcapacity

f) poor quality control g) lack of market contact h) bureaucratization i) OPEC mode of regulation rising deficits collapse Bretton Woods 1971

Conclusion
every era or wave- characterized by a regime of accumulation and mode of regulation Fordism- based on a regime of accumulation- mass production and mass consumption mode of regulation: Keynesian Welfare State (KWS)

 ensured stability until 1970s- reemergence of crisis and need for new consensus.