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Mass Production and Mass Consumption Rising to meet the enormous demands of the Great War, industry streamlined and perfected the production of material goods. After the war, industry could produce consumer goods in much greater quantities and for less, making possible a culture of mass consumption. Rising as an economic power after World War I, the United States became the model of mass consumption and unprecedented prosperity.
Mass Production of the Automobile Henry Ford’s mass production of the automobile exemplified the ties between mass production and consumption better than any other development. Popular demand inspired Ford to create the assembly line, which drove production up and prices down. Road building, mining, glass manufacturing, and other attendant industries ensured that huge numbers of American workers had jobs thanks to the automobile industry. Paying his workers double the going rate for industrial labor, Ford also expanded the market for his automobiles.
Overproduction of staple goods led to falling prices and rural worker dissatisfaction with their lot relative to that of urban worker. When the American stock market collapsed, financial institutions all across the globe closed their doors. Governments instituted protectionist measures shutting down most international trade. Manufacturers fired millions of workers before folding. So great was the impact, that the viability of markets began to be rethought. Many assumed that only state intervention could prevent such disasters. Thus was laid the foundation for the welfare state. Indeed, many regimes gave up on free-market capitalism entirely. >> Continue to the next part of the Summary: Mass Politics: Competing Visions of Becoming Modern
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