Social Movements and the Collective Identity of the Star Trek Fandom: Boldly Going Where No Fans Have Gone Before

Time delivery systems but is derisively referred to as an example of ‘‘Food Fordism.’’ The next group of leading companies (Nike, Apple, and Google) are aptly described as ‘‘Creative at Home/Fordist Abroad’’ corporations, outsourcing almost all routine production and only using lean production techniques in their skilled headquarters in the United States. The final chapter deals with the shirkers—WalMart, Costco, and Amazon. Amazon and WalMart (especially) treat workers badly, exploit suppliers, take advantage of market domination, and pay their corporate executives enormous salaries from the proceeds. This book is a serious achievement. I did have two minor quibbles and one major reaction. First, shareholder value theory and financialization don’t carry enough weight in the book. American business was offered physical fitness, a good diet, long life, and rigorous minds but continually picked crack cocaine because it made you feel good for 15 minutes. Is this the real reason we don’t have lean production? Second, the book focuses on high-performing household-name companies with enormous market share. Has any organization changed from being completely non-lean to being lean? My overall reaction toward the end of the book was one of mourning: in the United States, we could have done this; but we didn’t because it wouldn’t make the top .01 percent enough money at a fast enough pace. I would recommend Lepadatu and Janoski’s book to scholars in work and organizations and for advanced classes in these areas. Social Movements and the Collective Identity of the Star Trek Fandom: Boldly Going Where No Fans Have Gone Before, by David G. LoConto. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2020. 252 pp. $105.00 cloth. ISBN: 9781793607003.