Question

Infer the reasons for the emergence of Post-Fordism and the new international division of labour with suitable example.

Answer 1

The emergence of Post-Fordism and the new international division of labour :

• A new international division of labour has emerged in which more and more routine manufacturing production and employment is done in the Third World cities.
• Nike grew as an importer of shoes.
• The company grew to a multinational enterprise, a transnational corporation.
• As costs increased production shifted to South Korea in mid-1970s. Labour costs grew in South Korea, so in the 1980s production widened to Thailand and Indonesia. In the 1990s we in India produce Nike.
• However, if labour is cheaper elsewhere production centers will move somewhere else.
• This entire process makes the labouring population very vulnerable and insecure.
• This flexibility of labour often works in favour of the producers.
• Instead of mass production of goods at a centralised location (Fordism), we have moved to a system of flexible production at dispersed locations (post-Fordism).