ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the two conventional approaches, namely: the ascription of exclusivity to the political institutions in shaping the dominant discourse, and the assumption of a dramatic turnabout proximate to the historic milestone of 1948. It examines the involvement of the industrialists and the owners of capital in configuring the dominant Zionist ideology already in the prestate years. The chapter describes how the industrialists sought, for their own reasons, to expand the boundaries of the basic conceptions in the Zionist-socialist discourse to incorporate—and legitimate—their project. It argues that the extension of the legitimate discourse, enabled the labor movements themselves to promote pro-capitalist practices. The chapter describes how the Zionist discourse was expanded to encompass industry as an instrument to mobilize resources: capital and labor. Labor productivity is a multifaceted concept that assumed various forms parallel to the rise of industry and the articulation of the managerial theories it spawned.
