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Small, Medium, Large: How Government Made the U.S. into a Manufacturing PowerhouseSmall, Medium, Large: How Government Made the U.S. into a Manufacturing Powerhouse

Small, Medium, Large: How Government Made the U.S. into a Manufacturing Powerhouse

Current price: $59.95
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Small, Medium, Large: How Government Made the U.S. into a Manufacturing Powerhouse

Small, Medium, Large: How Government Made the U.S. into a Manufacturing Powerhouse

Current price: $59.95
Loading Inventory...

Size: Audiobook (2024 A)

Visit retailer's website
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We live in a world of seemingly limitless consumer choice. Yet, as every shopper knows without thinking about it, many everyday goods—from beds to batteries to printer paper—are available in a finite number of "standard sizes." What makes these sizes "standard" is an agreement among competing firms to make or sell products with the same limited dimensions. But how did firms—often hotly competing firms—reach such collective agreements? In exploring this question, Colleen Dunlavy puts the history of mass production and distribution in an entirely new light. She reveals that, despite the widely publicized model offered by Henry Ford, mass production techniques did not naturally diffuse throughout the US economy. On the contrary, formidable market forces blocked their diffusion. It was only under the cover of collectively agreed-upon, industry-wide standard sizes—orchestrated by the federal government—that competing firms were able to break free of market forces and transition to mass production and distribution. Without government promotion of standard sizes, the twentieth-century American variety of capitalism would have looked markedly less "Fordist." Small, Medium, Large will make all of us think differently about the everyday consumer choices we take for granted.
We live in a world of seemingly limitless consumer choice. Yet, as every shopper knows without thinking about it, many everyday goods—from beds to batteries to printer paper—are available in a finite number of "standard sizes." What makes these sizes "standard" is an agreement among competing firms to make or sell products with the same limited dimensions. But how did firms—often hotly competing firms—reach such collective agreements? In exploring this question, Colleen Dunlavy puts the history of mass production and distribution in an entirely new light. She reveals that, despite the widely publicized model offered by Henry Ford, mass production techniques did not naturally diffuse throughout the US economy. On the contrary, formidable market forces blocked their diffusion. It was only under the cover of collectively agreed-upon, industry-wide standard sizes—orchestrated by the federal government—that competing firms were able to break free of market forces and transition to mass production and distribution. Without government promotion of standard sizes, the twentieth-century American variety of capitalism would have looked markedly less "Fordist." Small, Medium, Large will make all of us think differently about the everyday consumer choices we take for granted.

More About Indigo at Erin Mills Town Centre

The largest book retailer in Canada also offers toys, music, home décor, gifts and lifestyle products. What's Inside...Books, Magazines, CD’s and DVD’s, Toys and Gifts, Home Accents, Electronics, Baby’s and Children’s Section, Bath and Body, Kitchen and Bedroom, Stationary Located outside in the exterior plaza.

5015 Glen Erin Dr, Mississauga, ON L5M 0R7, Canada

Find Indigo at Erin Mills Town Centre in Mississauga ON

Visit Indigo at Erin Mills Town Centre in Mississauga ON
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