Debunking Ford’s relation to the past: history as “Bunk” in Emersonian perspective
ISSN: 1751-1348
Article publication date: 10 September 2021
Issue publication date: 1 December 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to reconsider the significance of Henry Ford’s claim that “History is more or less bunk”. It argues that this seemingly philistine remark can be understood as a specific historiographical position which informed Ford’s wider worldview, management approach and philosophy of industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on primary philosophical works, secondary criticism and archival evidence. These sources detail the context in which the claim was made, the ideas underpinning its articulation and the conceptual basis on which Ford’s wider perspectives and contributions to historical experience can be interpreted.
Findings
This paper interprets Ford’s claim as a gesture of allegiance to a deeper cultural sensibility that was informed by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s transcendental view of history.
Practical implications
In addition to offering a rereading of Ford’s historiographical position, Emerson’s thought is discussed in relation to Ford’s subsequent “living history” project (Greenfield Village), which is considered the materialisation of his historical and industrial worldview.
Originality/value
This interpretation reveals how a specific historiographical position held by one of the twentieth century’s leading industrialists offers new insights into his wider worldview and philosophy of industry. It contributes to recent studies that challenge taken-for-granted narratives in management history and recent work that has highlighted the influence of transcendental principles on Ford’s philosophy of industry.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to the journal editors and anonymous reviewers for their generous and constructive comments throughout the peer-review process. The author is also grateful to Huw Fearnall-Williams and Kostas Amiridis with whom some of the central ideas of this paper were discussed in their initial stages.
The author is also thankful to York Business School for supporting a trip to The Benson Ford Research Centre in 2019 which allowed him to access the archival material used in this article.
Citation
Watt, P. (2021), "Debunking Ford’s relation to the past: history as “Bunk” in Emersonian perspective", Journal of Management History, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 519-536. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-07-2020-0048
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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