This important collection presents in two volumes the most significant papers on the history of mass production and highlights crucial debates in the attempt to understand the phenomenon and its social and economic effects.

The selection focuses on six important themes. Volume I opens with an exploration of the antecedents to mass production and an investigation of the mechanical, economic and social roots of the transformation in production methods at the beginning of the 20th century. The following section examines the emergence of ‘Fordism’ and the fundamental elements of the new system. The final section describes the extent to which mass production has spread through the wider economy and the ways in which it has changed in the process.

In Volume II, the first section covers the impact of mass production on work and the workers. The second section looks at how Japan has exploited the principles of mass production and may indeed have evolved a new form of productive organisation. The concluding section raises the question of whether in the late 20th century the dominance of mass production is in decline.