Verified Document

Innovation Ethic In Chapter 4 Of Perils Essay

Innovation Ethic In Chapter 4 of Perils of Prosperity, John Sarno argues that American industry does not really have an innovation ethic, and as a result it has been very badly damaged by the system of global capitalism and free trade that the U.S. government created after World War II. They were not prepared for the intense foreign competition that began to hit them full force in the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the social and economic conditions of most American workers have deteriorated over the last thirty years, and this was already clear before the latest recession. As Thomas Jefferson had always feared, the great barons of American industry had turned the country into a nation of employees, and had trained and educated many of them to be dependents and conformists rather than innovators, independent thinkers and creators. Knowledge-based forms now contribute 20% of overall GNP and 40% of real economic growth, and knowledge workers earn 40% more, but most American employees do not fall into this category (Sarno 123). Today and for the foreseeable future "occupations that increasingly require cognitive complexity will continue to pay the biggest rewards as other occupations will pay increasingly less," and the effects of this can be seen everywhere in the global economy (124).

In 1979-84, nearly eleven million manufacturing jobs were lost to foreign competition in the U.S. And these did not return but rather left large parts of the old manufacturing regions as a Rust Belt. Most of those who were made redundant did not find comparable work again, but ended up in the service sector or as freelancers and independent contractors. They do not have pensions or job security and half lack any type of health insurance. New developments in technology also made middle management redundant, leading to a 21% reduction in corporate officers in 2002-07 (125). For the 70% of U.S. workers who have less than a college education, wages and living standards have stagnated or declined over the last thirty years. Even for the educated, jobs are being outsourced to China and India, including research...

These countries also spend more proportionately on basic research than the U.S., which is lagging behind in many key areas (126). In short, the American economy that emerged from World War II, dominated by giant global corporations, was totally unprepared to compete in this New World Order.
In American manufacturing, most of the jobs were based on the Scientific Management of Frederick Taylor, which was very efficient and productive, but also created millions of dull, robot-like jobs. Under Fordism, managers expected "little in the way of creativity from rand and file employees," while most union members were content with job security and lifetime employment (130). In American history, the debate over how large-scale industry would affect democracy, independence and individual liberty went back to the 18th Century debates between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. George Washington privately opposed slavery and endorsed Hamilton's plans to industrialize the country, which both believed would gradually make slavery extinct and obsolete. Southerners believed this as well, which is why they formed their own party against the Federalists, and later their Whig and Republican successors, who kept attempting to pass the same plans whenever they controlled the White House. Since the majority of the population consisted of small farmers who had been hostile to the Constitution, Hamilton opposed democracy and would have preferred a Senate and President elected for life. He was hostile to the French Revolution, and always looked to Britain as an economic model and trading partner. As Treasury Secretary, he had the federal government assume all debts from the Revolutionary War, which he argued would promote trade and manufacturing, called for a protective tariff for industry and a new Bank of the United States modeled on the Bank of England.

Thomas Jefferson was completely opposed to all these plans until the day he died on July 4, 1826, and stated that he would continue to oppose them even beyond the grave. He…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Responsibility of Companies Has Historically
Words: 9542 Length: 35 Document Type: Term Paper

These claims are virtually all based on the concept that corporations - particularly multinationals -- should be held accountable for their actions within their sphere of operations. "Corporations, for their part, have responded in numerous ways, from denying any duties in the area of human rights to accepting voluntary codes that could constrain their behavior" (Ratner, 2001, p. 436). In fact, this very point is echoed throughout the literature; for

Branding -- Is It Still
Words: 8213 Length: 25 Document Type: Multiple Chapters

Branding in the global marketplace "Brands should be viewed as markers in a global system of symbolic differences" (Cayla, 2008, p. 106). Julien Cayla and Eric. J. Arnould assert in their Abstract that scholars in the field of international marketing need to "revise some key premises and foundations" and think more along the lines of the being "culturally relative" and "contextually sensitive" when approaching global branding (Cayla, et al., 2008, p.

Has Computer Technology Enhanced Overall Efficiency of South Florida...
Words: 7588 Length: 28 Document Type: Term Paper

Criminal Justice Computers and Their Effects upon Police Efficiency Computer technology has transformed the modern day police department. Numerous systems now provide assistance in fields ranging from communication, to information storage and retrieval, and even allocation of personnel. Properly designed, computer applications save time and energy. They permit police officers to do the work they were hired to do - police. The various articles in this report both feature and support the

Students With Disabilities Who Did
Words: 17241 Length: 60 Document Type: Dissertation

The shift toward standardized testing has failed to result in a meaningful reduction of high school dropout rates, and students with disabilities continue to be marginalized by the culture of testing in public education (Dynarski et al., 2008). With that said, the needs of students with specific educational challenges are diverse and complex, and the solutions to their needs are not revealed in the results of standardized testing (Crawford &

Ethical Leadership Is Required to Stop the
Words: 2900 Length: 10 Document Type: Literature Review

Ethical leadership is required to stop the 'Planned Obsolescence' principle in Consumer Product Design and Development This paper attempts to identify and explain the issue of 'Planned Obsolescence' and whether the ethical leadership can help eradicate it from consumer perspective. Ethical decision making model developed by Winter (1992b) and Corporate Social Responsibility model developed by Carroll (1991) will be used as the theoretical foundation for this paper. Survey method will be

Human Progress Is the Ultimate
Words: 1620 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

On the other hand however, it gives rise to an exclusive attitude and a multiple layer style of development and economic evolution because there will always be countries that fail to keep up with innovative technology, high tech research and revolutionary concepts which stand at the basis of today's creative industries. This is why the population in least developed countries does not consider globalization as being benefic for the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now