Fordism-- Selective Wages

Fordism... interesting. As stated by Barker, "The post-1945 economies of the western world, and especially of Britain and America, have been dominated by 'Fordism' as an economic practice and Keynesianism as the economic policy of nation-states." Keynesianism, as defined by Wikipedia, is a means that "the state can stimulate economic growth and improve stability in the private sector - through, for example, interest rates, taxation and public projects." Between Fordism and Keynesianism, societies could begin earning top dollar for their labor-- however, Barker also states who deserves the top dollar.... white men!!!

After reading this section regarding the need to pay 'core-laborers' top dollar in order for the workers to afford top dollar products, I realized the manipulation in these words. Who are 'core-laborers' in a factory? Well, not women. Barker continues to say, "A system of relatively high wages, at least for core workers, in order to sustain the purchasing of high-volume production. Allied to a relatively well-paid core-labour force was a low-wage sector in which women and people of colour were over-represented." The big-time companies wanted to be represented by their items being sold... so of course the people buying them are selective. If a company wants to be viewed in a certain way, they would want only certain people buying their products. And if a company has control over how much their workers make, and they want their workers to afford certain products, then the company will give higher wages to their workers who qualify into the realm of acceptability. (Of course, this is only what the company considers acceptable).