Anyone not living in an ivory tower has probably encountered this problem. Virtually any product you mention will have shoddy workmanship written all over it. I have complained before about computer mice that work for a few weeks or months, but I will give you a few more examples based on my own experience: shoes that wear out in a short time at certain parts, clothes that lose their color very quickly or tear easily, parts of vehicles that break off easily (the replacement of which brings a huge profit for the car manufacturer and the dealer), earphones that fall apart in a few months, etc.
And then there's Fast Fashion, which is based on this mechanism, which produces cheap clothes because they deteriorate quickly, so you can run to the store every few months (weeks?) for a new, more trendy item.
I don't know who exactly came up with this, but he was a total scoundrel. On the one hand, it habituates people to wastefulness and carelessness, and on the other, it drastically increases the production of waste, which, of course, the manufacturers have no part in dealing with.
This is not good practice. It must be stopped.
Socialism is fundamentally not a well-functioning system, for a number of reasons, but at least they made sure that they made products that lasted as long as they could. Probably everyone has come across a GDR freezer bought in the 90s and still working today, or a Russian fridge. They used to be motivated by rationality: they didn't want to waste. No raw materials, no man-hours, no energy.
In capitalism, by contrast, this is not a consideration. There is only one consideration: profit above all else. Now we have succeeded in raising the level of waste production to such a level that this alone would be enough to destroy civilization.
Is there a solution? Of course. Involve manufacturers in the management of waste, educate the public not to take their trash to the forest and throw it into the river or the sea. At the same time, make it easier (not harder) for them to dispose of their garbage.
So the conclusion is that we need to produce durable products. Jacque Fresco has also specifically addressed this in his concept. In a resource-based economy, profit is only a third priority, so managing the waste produced by society and the economy in an efficient and health-friendly way is a top priority.
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