Abstract

In this article, we identify the relations between Toyota’s management practices, as those formulated by its creator, Taiichi Ohno, and practiced by several companies, and elements that characterize the contemporary slave work. Our references bring together Dejour’s psychodynamics, modern slavery descriptions and Ohno’s principles, from his Toyota’s Production System book. When we confront the first two elements from the previous statement with Toyota’s characteristics, we can associate this discourse, mainstream in organizations and even in schools of management, with the incidence of modern slavery patterns. The conclusion we reached is that there is a historical regression to primitive capitalist standards, with unlimited disposition to cut costs, and, in this context, an increasing despise for social costs. We can verify a clear paradox, far beyond feudal and enslaving remnants, of the spreading and naturalization of colonial-enslaving working conditions inside the capitalist production system.

Keywords:
Modern Slavery; Toyotism; Intensification; Flexibility; Exhaustive Working Day