fordism

fordism
As defined by Antonio Gramsci , this refers to a form of productive organization thought to be typical of advanced capitalism and exemplified by Henry Ford's system of mass automobile production. This allied labour management according to the principles of scientific management (‘Taylorism’) with a wider reorganization of production and marketing, involving a moving assembly line, standardized outputs, and demand stimulation by a combination of low prices, high wages, advertising, and consumer credit. Gramsci suggested that high levels of production could only be sustained by ‘tempering compulsion … with persuasion’. Fordism provided workers with high wages and rising levels of consumption in exchange for an intensified work regime.
Many subsequent (mainly neo-Marxist) theorists have used the concept in analysing the industrial and social order of full employment, mass production, the welfare state, and rising standards of consumption, which characterized advanced capitalist societies after the Second World War. However, the term is used variously to refer to assembly-line mass production, certain leading sectors of industry, a hegemonic form of industrial organization, or a ‘mode of regulation’-the meaning of which probably comes closest to that intended by Gramsci.
Following the economic crises of the 1970s and 1980s, with associated changes in the social and technical organization of production and the alleged coming of post-industrial society , some suggest that fordism is in terminal crisis, being succeeded by ‘post-fordism’, based on so-called flexible production systems. This new terminology also carries varying meanings according to the context of use and author. See also regulation theory.

Dictionary of sociology. 2013.

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  • Fordism — Fordism, named after Henry Ford, refers to various social theories. It has varying, albeit related, meanings in different fields, and for marxist and non marxist scholars.Fordism in the United StatesIn the United States, Fordism is the economic… …   Wikipedia

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  • Fordism — noun the use in manufacturing industry of the mechanized mass production methods pioneered by the American motor manufacturer Henry Ford (1863–1947). Derivatives Fordist noun & adjective …   English new terms dictionary

  • fordism — ford·ism …   English syllables

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  • fordism — ˌdizəm noun ( s) Usage: usually capitalized Etymology: Henry Ford died 1947 American auto manufacturer + English ism : a technological system that seeks to increase production efficiency primarily through carefully engineered breakdown and… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Post-Fordism — is the name given to the dominant system of economic production, consumption and associated socio economic phenomena, in most industrialized countries since the late 20th century. It is contrasted with Fordism, the system formulated in Henry Ford …   Wikipedia

  • post-Fordism — post Ford‧is‧m [ˌpəʊst ˈfɔːdɪzm ǁ ˌpoʊst ˈfɔːrd ] noun [uncountable] HUMAN RESOURCES COMMERCE modern ways of producing goods, in which workers have more freedom and variety in their work, a greater variety of goods is produced, and more… …   Financial and business terms

  • post-fordism — See flexible employment ; fordism …   Dictionary of sociology

  • fordist — fordism …   Dictionary of sociology

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