Modern Manors
Welfare Capitalism since the New Deal
Chapter One
The Coming of Welfare Capitalism
AT THE BEGINNING of the twentieth century huge corporations dotted America. Inside them, workers labored under the "drive system," which economist Sumner H. Slichter described as "the policy of obtaining efficiency not by rewarding merit, not by seeking to interest men in their work ... but by putting pressure on them to turn out a large output." The system depended on fear of job loss to ensure obedience, and employers did not hesitate to fire workers. Those who were dissatisfied had few alternatives other than to seek their fortunes on the open market. High quit rates contributed to the overall instability of the workplace, which made unemployment a recurring fact of life.
Although European workers faced similar problems, they were supported by a spreading web of in ... read full excerpt from Modern Manors ebook
