<<or at least a self-fulfilling prophecy>>
"productive" in a literal sense and without connoting value; as a factory may be said to be productive.
Concerning the "law of reversed effort," that's a nice term ([truly emoticon}), where'd you find it? -- in terms of the advancement of the auto industry's program, one would need to look at the whole scheme of communications, pr, and beliefs about industry and progress and political and economic and regulatory environment at that time in order to make an assessment. I don't think you could make any direct inferences based on what one might expect to happen today. It is interesting that various agenda should acquire an air of inevitability under the rubrick of progress, though -- so that it almost doesn't seem to matter which, positive or negative, future you pick.
