Mass production
Topic: The Making of a Global World · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 3 "The Making of a Global World"
Meaning
Mass production means making very large numbers of identical goods quickly and cheaply, using machines and an assembly line. On an assembly line, the product moves past workers, and each worker does one small task again and again. It became the defining feature of US industry in the 1920s. Lower costs and higher wages allowed ordinary people to buy cars and household machines. This buying by ordinary people is called mass consumption.
Example
Henry Ford adapted the assembly line of a Chicago slaughterhouse for his car plant in Detroit. His T-Model, the world's first mass-produced car, came off the line every three minutes. When workers quit because the pace was too hard, Ford doubled the daily wage to $5 in January 1914, but he also banned trade unions. US car production rose from 2 million in 1919 to over 5 million in 1929. Refrigerators, washing machines and radios were also sold on "hire purchase", which means paying in instalments.
Don't confuse with
- Mass consumption: This is the demand side, where many people buy goods. After the inter-war years, people learnt that mass production can only last if incomes stay high and steady enough to support mass consumption.