Fordism and post-Fordism : a critical reformulation

As the language of Fordism and post-Fordism has entered everyday discussion it has also been vulgarized. 1 This reduces its utility for theoretical understanding and empirical analysis and generates many confusions and controversies. This chapter critically reworks the conventional terminology of Fordism and post-Fordism by distinguishing four levels on which they can be analyzed. It also notes a fundamental analytical asymmetry between the two terms and calls for more cautious and critical use of the notion of post-Fordism.