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Industrial Recreation, the Second World War, and the Revival of Welfare Capitalism, 1934–1960

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2012

Elizabeth Fones-Wolf
Elizabeth Fones-Wolf
Affiliation:
Elizabeth Fones-Wolf is a doctoral candidate in American history at theUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst.
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Abstract

Welfare capitalism has been perceived by many historians as succumbing to the stresses of the Depression. The work of recent scholars has contributed to an understanding of welfarism's continued existence through the 1930s and beyond, but little attention has been given to the process by which employers revitalized welfare work after the 1920s. In this article, Ms. Fones-Wolf explores the key role the Second World War played in helping to expand and legitimize corporate-sponsored welfarism, particularly in the area of recreational activity. With union resistance to welfare plans diminished, employers were able to extend their experimentation with this managerial device, thereby helping to defuse a postwar resurgence of militant unionism.

Type
Articles
Information
Business History Review , Volume 60 , Issue 2 , Summer 1986 , pp. 232 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1986

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References

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