Through the rise of modernism in American culture during the 1920’s, America’s societal and economical standards were changed. Those changes came in the form of a rise in mass consumption, fewer societal restrictions, and new opportunities created through the rise of Industrialization. In the middle of this changing culture stood Henry Ford and his automobile company. Ford helped push American culture toward a heightened emphasis on mechanization, while also revolutionizing mass production through the creation of the assembly line. Yet, both Ford and modern American culture displayed contradictions in how they affected the American people. While supplying many benefits that brought great progress to American society, they also created disadvantages.
…show more content…
The Women’s Suffrage movement that created, “…a new feminine personality,” and greater African American presence in the North symbolized changing attitudes towards both groups in American society (Gramsci 282). However, the fact that these new social groups were gaining more influence in American society brought fear to other groups, such as white Christian males. That fear stemmed from the feeling that the power they held for so many years could eventually be stripped away from them. In regards to Fordism, it also connects with the modern American culture clash between those in power with those below. Within his business, Ford sought to keep power within his management group rather than give his workforce any leverage. Part of the inspiration for the Five-Dollar Day as an effort to subdue any possible problems the workers could have. In addition, Ford, along with Taylor, preached their systems to be meritocracies, systems where success would be reached when, “...individual[s] [have] reached [the] highest state of efficiency,” or output for the company (“The Principles of Scientific Management” 3). Yet, this statement seems flawed when the actual structure of Ford’s business is examined. In Ford’s company, all employees make up the workforce who work within a standardized, dehumanized, task-managed set of regulations created by Ford and those he hired to help him. The structure of Ford’s business resembles that of a bureaucracy, one where the upper class specifies the rules that regulate those below. Both American culture and Fordism reveal contradicting forces between the two classes in each social structure. The contradiction of the prosperity of lower classes and the force of those above to keep them down presents itself both in Fordism and modern American
The Women’s Suffrage movement that created, “…a new feminine personality,” and greater African American presence in the North symbolized changing attitudes towards both groups in American society (Gramsci 282). However, the fact that these new social groups were gaining more influence in American society brought fear to other groups, such as white Christian males. That fear stemmed from the feeling that the power they held for so many years could eventually be stripped away from them. In regards to Fordism, it also connects with the modern American culture clash between those in power with those below. Within his business, Ford sought to keep power within his management group rather than give his workforce any leverage. Part of the inspiration for the Five-Dollar Day as an effort to subdue any possible problems the workers could have. In addition, Ford, along with Taylor, preached their systems to be meritocracies, systems where success would be reached when, “...individual[s] [have] reached [the] highest state of efficiency,” or output for the company (“The Principles of Scientific Management” 3). Yet, this statement seems flawed when the actual structure of Ford’s business is examined. In Ford’s company, all employees make up the workforce who work within a standardized, dehumanized, task-managed set of regulations created by Ford and those he hired to help him. The structure of Ford’s business resembles that of a bureaucracy, one where the upper class specifies the rules that regulate those below. Both American culture and Fordism reveal contradicting forces between the two classes in each social structure. The contradiction of the prosperity of lower classes and the force of those above to keep them down presents itself both in Fordism and modern American