In praise of holiday Fordism: why it’s misanthropic to malign mass tourism
from The GT Blog, August 2021
Fordism refers to modern manufacturing that leverages the technology of the production line and benefits from economies of scale and scope. In this context, Henry Ford himself wrote of the Model T, the exemplar of the 20th century’s earliest production lines:
“Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.’’
Colour didn’t matter. The Model T was affordable to so many more people than previous motor cars had been. Thus mass consumption, including more colour options, naturally followed from mass production.
This hardly sounds very touristy. As tourists, we want to explore our individuality and ‘find ourselves’. Yet the principles of Fordism have long been applied to tourism. And, far from a stultifying sameness, they have contributed greatly to individual freedom.