How Henry Ford’s Strange Social Program Aimed to Control The Personal Lives Of Workers

The Ford Sociological Department: A Critical Examination of Henry Ford’s Capitalist Paternalism

In March 1913, Henry Ford established the Ford Sociological Department, a division within the Ford Motor Company designed to oversee social benefits for employees and monitor their personal lives. While ostensibly created to improve the welfare of Ford’s workforce, the department’s practices reveal a darker side of Ford’s capitalist vision, characterized by invasive surveillance, paternalistic control, and forced assimilation.

Purpose and Activities

The Ford Sociological Department was tasked with ensuring that employees lived in well-maintained single-family homes and adhered to specific behavioral standards to qualify for the full $5 per day wage. This wage was revolutionary at the time, doubling the average pay for industrial workers. However, the conditions attached to this wage were stringent and intrusive. Investigators, later known as “Advisors,” monitored employees both at work and at home, offering hygiene instruction, financial and legal advice, and even dictating how employees should spend their money.