High wage-economy, sloanism and fordism: the American experience during the golden age

Abstract

This paper provides an interpretation of the pattern of mass consumption in the American economy at the beginning of the last century centered on 'sloanism' instead of 'fordism'. The financial, product and marketing innovations associated with General Motor's Alfred Sloan are considered the central features of the mass production regime. The American economy was a 'high wage' economy (Hobson) which depended mainly on the high productivity in agriculture (not only in industry) and the new political coalitions and institutions that appeared in the 1930s (and not in the post-war period as the fordists maintain).