Lean Production: The Capitalist Utopia? by Tony Smith

Lean Production: The capitalist utopia? by Tony Smith, RE Notebook for Study and Research no. 23, 1995 PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISTS AND THINKERS IN THE 1990s may face more difficult challenges at the same time than ever before in this century: ecological challenges to old visions of abundance; the collapse of "really existing socialism"; the now unrivalled military supremacy of the USA; economic globalization. Lean Production responds to one such challenge: the claim that major economic changes now underway are making the left's old analysis and critique of capitalism obsolete. The world economy has not only become more closely linked together in the last few years: its technology, its distribution networks, and its basic organizing units on the shop floor are also changing. The business press claims that the new "lean production" unites companies, workers and consumers in the harmonious pursuit of common interests. Innovative ways of organizing production and marketing, within an economic system that is still capitalist, are widely argued to eliminate earlier antagonisms between capital and labour, between producers and consumers, and between different companies. Though progressives may be sceptical of these arguments, we can neither deny that changes are going on nor ignore the interpretations being put forward. This is why the IRE asked Tony Smith, professor of philosophy and author (among other works) of The Logic of Marx's 'Capital', to examine the new trends. Lean Production: A Capitalist Utopia?, is the result of his work. Is DAS KAPITAL OBSOLETE? Smith agrees that lean production is transforming many of the earlier, "Fordist" ways of organizing production. If the assertions of lean production ideologues are true, he says, then much of what Marx said about capitalist economies is essentially obsolete. He then lays out key points of Marx's analysis, explaining why Marx defined the capital-labour relationship as exploitative, saw consumers interests as conflicting with capital's, and considered antagonism between units of capital inevitable. Picking apart the business press's arguments one by one, Smith argues that the real changes brought about by lean production do not alter the exploitative, alienating and anarchic character of capitalism. Finally, he explains why lean production is in some ways more efficient and dynamic than the bureaucratically-planned economies that existed until recently in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He proposes a model for a socialist economy, based on grassroots • participation and democratic coordination, that could match the dynamism of lean production while genuinely keeping its broken promises of cooperation and harmony. Smith's aim is not just to respond to a theoretical challenge, but also to help people respond to the practical challenge of lean production. He considers that the most important forums for the critical analysis of new production techniques are the shop floors, offices, union halls, and political settings where workers discuss their own experiences and plan their own actions. This work is meant to contribute to their discussions and strategizing. * To announce your publication in this free listing, send a sample copy to "Book reviers" c/o International Viewpoint, PECI, BP 85, 75522 Paris cedex 11, France. To order, try your nearest progressive bookstore, contact the publishers directly, or write to : La Brech 9 rue de Tunis, 75011 Paris, France tel. (+33 1) 43 67 63 57 fax 43 79 29 61 (English, French and Spanish spoken). Where no price is given, we suggest you enclose a donation of US$ 10 in any convertible currency to cover the postage costs of the publisher.