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Quote from the article: "Ironically, it was only when Henry Ford took the wildly controversial step of shuttering his automobile manufacturing factories on Sat

Quote from the article: "Ironically, it was only when Henry Ford took the wildly controversial step of shuttering his automobile manufacturing factories on Saturday and cutting daily work hours from the then-standard 12 to 8 that workers began not only enjoying leisure time at home, but became more efficient and productive at work." Now if we re-read the Wikipedia article we see that, in fact, Ford was not the decisive factor but that there were a series of labor struggles before and after Ford's decision mostly outside the automotive industry that eventually won legislative support that truly universalized the 40-hour workweek. Thus Ford's role is minor, but perhaps decisive for the automotive industry only. Very different from the strong and historically warped claim made above.

rifung 12y ago
My take from the article was that Ford popularized the idea. I definitely don't know enough about history to make a case either way, but at the very least the wikipedia article did not contradict it. It doesn't seem too far fetched to me that Ford's cutting daily work hours would have made a huge impact if only because it brought the idea to the public's eyes. At the very least it wouldn't surprise me if only because it wouldn't be the first time I read about Ford's influence on setting trends for working.
- zenogais 12y ago
  I get what you were trying to say, for sure, but the fact of the matter is that you weren't actually familiar with the history, as you now admit, and ignored the entirety of the Wikipedia article except for a single sentence in order to draw support for the conclusion you wanted validated. Now you're falling back on pure conjecture to support your conclusion. The Wikipedia article does contradict the original statement, if you still don't see how then I can't really help you except to suggest you perhaps review in detail.

rifung 12y ago

My take from the article was that Ford popularized the idea. I definitely don't know enough about history to make a case either way, but at the very least the wikipedia article did not contradict it. It doesn't seem too far fetched to me that Ford's cutting daily work hours would have made a huge impact if only because it brought the idea to the public's eyes. At the very least it wouldn't surprise me if only because it wouldn't be the first time I read about Ford's influence on setting trends for working.

zenogais 12y ago
I get what you were trying to say, for sure, but the fact of the matter is that you weren't actually familiar with the history, as you now admit, and ignored the entirety of the Wikipedia article except for a single sentence in order to draw support for the conclusion you wanted validated. Now you're falling back on pure conjecture to support your conclusion. The Wikipedia article does contradict the original statement, if you still don't see how then I can't really help you except to suggest you perhaps review in detail.