chapter 1

And we're blogging...

Looking (way) back on Chapter 1, I remembered that it was the first time I made a conscious connection between Henry Ford and the current state of this country and the developed world. I don't think I even realized that his name had become an "ism." I knew about Ford and the whole car thing, but I didn't realize that his influence stretched so far beyond cars. Immediately after I read the word "Fordism," it clicked in my brain that his development of mass-production machinery, techniques, and products has become the foundation of developed societies.

I remember first hearing about how Ford (in partnership with the government I think?) had thousands of miles of rail road tracks ripped up in order to create more demand for his cars. I guess it's hard to blame him for all this though, because back then environmental issues were not a concern. Back then I probably would have been very proud to have thought of all this. Mass-production has been a great accomplishment for mankind, but it could also become it's greatest mistake.

Mass-production essentially means mass-consumption of natural resources and mass-production of waste. That is not to say that it's not possible to have mass-production with sustainable resource use and sustainable waste production. I don't know if it is or not. I do know that presently, we are depleting the planet's resources at an alarming rate and screwing future generations (our children and grandchildren). I think they're going to be pretty pissed at us (especially at Bush) for not doing more.

So it's not that I'm blaming Henry Ford for all the world's environmental problems...but when grossly simplified, I'd say he's one of the larger contributors.