The Second Industrial Divide
Main > OSE > Guiding philosophies
by Michael J. Piore - This is a seminal book on the viability of flexible fabrication - or flexible specialization - as an alternative to mass production - a viable form of craft production aided by computer technology and capable of producing both at corporate and individual-scales. Mass production became the norm not because it achieved the best economic results or efficiency, but because societal forces have steered it towards mass production.
The First Industrial Divide was the Industrial Revolution - a separation between the imperialist and the conquered on the international level. The second industrial divide refers to what happened since then within individual countries, such that an implicit hate of craft production was a result, and hearsay claims that the Fab Lab leadership hates craft production.
Review
Great 4 pager - https://www.jstor.org/stable/2702598?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Keynesian Economics and Other Notes
- Keynesian State - or the interference of government in business cycles - was accepted in the USA with the New Deal. Since then, we are in a Keynesian state - business cycles, with government interference during depressions via control of the money supply
- Keynesianism was essentially the nationalization of Fordism. Good historical study of Keynesianism - [1]
- From first observation, Keynesian economics appear to be a patch on a deeper issue: Financialization in a Neoliberal World Order.
- Corporatism - modern version is where the state recognizes only one accepted supplier, trade organization, etc in each sector of the economy - thus promoting the status quo. This rings true - such as for military contractors, STEAM conferences where certain approved suppliers get promoted, etc. By establishing itself as the arbiter of legitimacy and assigning responsibility for a particular constituency with one sole organization, the state limits the number of players with which it must negotiate its policies and co-opts their leadership into policing their own members. This arrangement is not limited to economic organizations such as business groups and social organizations.'- [2]. Note also - corporatism is tripartism - collaboration between state, union, and business interests.
