Truths Of Capitalism And Economic Practices In The Writings Of Ben Hamper
During the middle of the nineteenth century, the American political stance on internal economics changed abruptly from Neo-Conservatism to Neo-Liberalism. The ideology of Neo-Liberalism, inspired to combat Communist theory, included features pertaining to individualism and the endorsement of free-market economies. Resembling the past philosophy of Social Darwinism and Laissez-faire, although excluding the majority of racial issues associated with it, Neo-Liberalism created a market concerned with corporate well-being and production rather than worker satisfaction or benefit. As stated, there was a lack of emphasis on the workers within the corporation, as employers, investors, and the general government and population only esteemed production of goods and implementation of services. Also, re-introduced in this period was the Authority-Compliance theory affiliated with human resource approaches.
This theory revolves around the disregard for workers so long as a product is produced and maximum profit on said product is received. The theory of Authority-Compliance acts as a suppressor to the majority of blue-collared professionals and other working-class individuals, while being a benefiter of those in higher corporate positions. The effects of Neo-Liberalism and Authority-Compliance are shown within Ben Hampers autobiography, Rivethead. Narratives illustrating Neo-liberalism and Authority-Compliance create insights on American economic philosophies and their effect on the American people.
Authority-Compliance and Rivethead
Composed of Tales from the Assembly Line, the auto-biography, Rivethead, describes the personal experience of Ben Hamper through his occupation and experience as an industrial worker in the town of Flint, Michigan. Burdened by the weight of finding work, keeping work, and performing work within an economically challenged nation, the reader is exposed to many narratives describing the conditions and experience of the blue-collared professional’s struggle to escape the pre-determined standards of the working class and find success within an environment set on denying them of doing so.
Regarding the return of the reformed philosophy of Social Darwinism, persons pertaining to lower and working classes were discouraged from breaking societal norms and joining the echelon of comfortable, “civilized” living. As those who already stood within this echelon primarily emphasized their efforts on bettering production instead of other’s livelihoods, the stance on social rearrangement was rejected altogether and a foundation of upper-classed superiority was once more founded.
Ben Hamper, as a direct witness to this social behavior, displayed his unwillingness to conform to standards set by the upper-classes of American, but through his failure to do so, the unfortunate reality of the blue-collared worker is displayed. In the narratives of Hamper’s blue-collared work, crippling societal standards enacted on those unwilling to accept them are displayed as the philosophies of Social Darwinism, Neo-Liberalism, Laissez-Faire and most importantly, the Authority-Compliance theory, loom around the plot and directly influence the mediocrity of his life. As the Authority-Compliance theory includes the lack of attention and general disregard for workers, it can be stated that it takes a thematic place within Rivethead as Hamper experiences this environment in the workplace throughout his life.
Authority-Compliance Within the Context of Rivethead
To understand where and how the Authority-Compliance theory applies in this book, the reader must first understand the livelihood and background of blue-collared professionals through the narratives of Ben Hamper. Hamper, growing up in a family whose background featured working within industrial settings, was imposed on by both familial and societal organizations to follow the practices of those before him. Sacrificing his dream to work outside of factories and corporations requiring un-skilled labor, Hamper set a precedent of settling, in which many others in his class possessed. As most blue-collared professionals had resorted to taking the easy way out in life through not challenging unjust standards, they embedded a mindset in workplace leaders that they could be taken advantage of without challenge.
Corporations began noticing that they could determine policy without laborer interjection and government intervention, so they initiated the process of undermining worker’s rights and satisfaction to create revenue. In the case of Hamper, his time on Rivet Line illustrates this undertaking. His constant work, lack of breaks and communication, and general unhappiness shines light on corporate mismanagement of an industry capable of being taken advantage of. Hamper and other blue-collared professionals are forced into Authority-Compliance management in these cases as corporate leaders inhibit the disregard for worker well-being, in the hopes that they could create profit and maximize production.
Economic Philosophies and their Implication
Through the narratives in Rivethead, Neo-Liberalism, Social Darwinism, Laissez-Faire, and Authority-Compliance appear simultaneously in this time-period, the correlation between these philosophies and practices is displayed, creating truths about American ethics along with implications of what economic market successfulness entails. Because the commonality in American economic principle was Neo-Liberalism at this time period, it was widely accepted that corporations should be independent, capable of less regulation on trade, internal business affairs, and workplace practice. Seeing that Authority-Compliance resulted in response to this change in economic ideology, it is displayed that the American entrepreneur is eager to take advantage of opportunity to create profit even if it requires harming others socially and economically. Prior to the recession of the early 1980’s, the general American population shared a different philosophy regarding economics: Neo-conservatism.
As the change from Neo-conservatism to Neo-liberalism occurred, the stock market picked up production, inflation decreased, and the economy’s recession ended, leading to thirty years of stable economic growth. Reminding that Neo-liberalism and the implementation of Laissez-Faire spurred not only this shift, but Authority-Compliance, it is shown that Capitalism (during this period) worked best when the majority of citizens fell in to impoverished states and the remaining few rose to the forefront of social hierarchy.
Based on this relationship between economic growth and the linked aspects of Neo-liberalism, Laissez-Faire and Authority-Compliance, it can be stated that a nation, as a whole, maximizes its power when most are oppressed, but the general well-being of a nation during its rise is poor. This leads not only to the economical question, but the ethical question of if and when the United States can find a right medium of Neo-conservatism and Neo-liberalism to balance the rights of corporate individualism and government regulation to where a working class is a middle class and corporations are successful.
