Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 14:09:19 -0500
From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood-AT-panix.com>
Subject: Re: M-TH: Fordism Still Reigns?


LeoCasey wrote:

>Are you saying that you do NOT believe that there is a major transformation
>taking place in the world economy, and that industrial capitalism and its
>regimes (Fordism) are NOT quickly being surpassed? I would be interested in
>hearing the reasons for such a view.

There are *always* major transformations taking place in the world economy;
I think the burden of proof is on those who argue that there's been some
kind of epochal break in capitalism that's different in degree or kind from
previous transformations. But how is the collection of phenomena referred
to as post-Fordism any more radical an innovation than were the steamship
or the railroad or the automobile or the telephone?

In what sense is industrial capitalism itself "quickly being surpassed"? Do
we not have big industries cranking out lots of stuff? Aren't computers and
telephones and all the other totems of the Information Age mass produced by
industrial workers? Don't the First World economies still depend on high
levels of mass consumption? As Larry Summers says, you've got to
demonstrate what the supposed revolution in production has revolutionized
<http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/Globalization_sequel.html>.

Doug





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