David Lo Pun‘Henry Ford invented the 40 hour work week’ is a very strange way to say ‘Henry Ford claimed credit for changes he was forced to adopt after a hard fought campaign by the union members he despised’.
Love the ahistorical mythologising of the ‘good capitalist’ like Ford doubling their salary and ‘giving’ workers weekends occurred to him in an inspired dream rather than being the actual demands of the labour movement.
James K@helpmeskeletor Also, Ford paid his workers more because he wanted to intrusively monitor the personal lives of his workers. Most factory workers at the time were pretty casual, and would move from one factory to another as it pleased them. Ford's higher pay was a way to "lock in" his workers, making them more controllable.