Mass Consumption: Crisis of Capitalism and the Rise of Fordism
Mass Consumption: Capitalism in Crisis and the Rise of Fordism
Mass consumption, emerging from the international capitalism crisis of the late nineteenth century, evolved into a more organized system, fundamentally altering the operation of the 'world economy.' This transformation involved restructuring the underlying systems of industrial production and reproduction. Innovations in the production process led to the consolidation of what is known as the Second Industrial Revolution.
The new regulatory model, Fordism, began to take shape around World War I, driven by wartime needs and facilitated by the growth of a consumer market. This transformed the 'working condition,' moving away from the separate status of impoverished workers. This required...