You're right, and another insidious thing that Cory Doctorow often writes about is the ability to repair things, when components are electronically keyed to the item. Even if you can get the part and install it, either it won't work, or you have to pay the manufacturer to code it in for you.
He wrote a novella about it - "unauthorized bread"
Wow is this excellent piece sobering. A related issue is repairs. Back in the day, regular people who were good with their hands could repair old cars and appliances with no special training. I know because my dad kept every piece of machinery inside and outside of the house—cars, mowers, the washer and dryer, dishwasher, fridge, blow dryer, you name it—in good working order. He would scour the classified ads for cheap parts and was able to keep our household running for basically pennies. (And secretly he loved doing it; mechanical repairs were a kind of hobby for him.) Nowadays, this is totally impossible. We need trained experts to fix our stuff, which is why most of the time we just throw broken stuff away and buy a new replacement. So wasteful.
I’m reminded of Barbara Kingsolver’s point in Demon Copperhead, that Appalachian people have a strong independent streak and have throughout their history been self-sufficient, but that that self-sufficiency is no longer possible. The economic system won’t allow it. That is a loss.
When I bought my car in 2018, I realized that autoshops are on a short timeline in the future. So many parts and technologies required to work on newer cars are proprietary or sold aftermarket at insane mark up, which means that a 2020 hybrid may be almost unfixable to your neighborhood mechanic, excepting things like oil changes and transmission fluid clean outs.
Any engine or electrical issue? Better go to the dealer! And there are now tens of thousands of electrical components in a car, compared to, perhaps, a hundred in 2010.
When I moved some time ago, I was happy that the new residence had an in-unit automatic, new and fancy washing machine. What I discovered though is that the machine is literally programmed to NOT give you a hot wash. The most you can get is extra warm and that's only if you know what settings to pick. It is freaking ridiculous but they make them specifically so you can't even really do your laundry them with the water you want. They enshittified washing machines.
I don't think it's just manufacturing where this applies. Entertainment has become like this, too.
Entertainment production used to follow the same processes that Frederick Taylor used to create the idea of efficiency. The Hollywood studio system was little more than a bunch of factories making movies like manufacturers making household goods. And Berry Gordy, Jr. specifically modeled the production and quality control operations of Motown Records on the practices used by the Big Three automakers in Detroit, one of which he once toiled at.
The problem is that the machines have broken down. Those making the materials are far more concerned with profitability and the preservation of their own livelihoods than actually meeting the needs and desires of their audience. They resurrect popular dead franchises and give them another airing, regardless of what the fans of the original incarnations think. And their whims are never refused: it's almost like the word "no" doesn't exist in their universes.
Some newer machines have come into existence into the 21st century, but they, too, have been corrupted by the mechanics of the older versions, and it's hard to get them under control. They contribute so much to the glut of material available by vomiting up new "content" whenever it is said they must. Unlike those of earlier days, this business model is neither healthy nor stable, but try telling that to the people in charge.
This is probably what Bob Dylan meant when he sang about "everything" being "broken".
Yeah, this is definitely true. I think the further decision makers get from actual production (whether it's entertainment or material goods or whathaveyou), the worse things get.
So when media is steered by a bunch of MBAs who don't have a great love for movies, for example, they're just trying to turn profit rather than worry about quality.
Well... I agree with all you said and have the jeans coming apart after 1 year, the fridge that is on it's last leg (9 years) and all the rest, and cars... I sold mine, I don't want to own a car anymore, and I don't need to, inconvenient as it may be. If you think about it, the average car idles what? ~80% of its time throughout the time it is owned? Also, try and repair or so much as to change a bulb in your car yourself today... and yep, I'm on iPhone11. Year 5...
Bought a domestic truck a few years ago, and the power steering went out at 100,000 miles. Got a Toyota last year, and while I haven’t had it long enough to swear to the quality, I’m betting that it will last quite a while longer.
It can even be the founders of the companies misdirecting their energies. Henry Ford was an industrious and ambitious young man, but, by the end of his life, he had become a raving lunatic who had lost total control of his company and mind.
This ties in with the rise of services vs ownership too.
I think part of it legitimately has to do with technology changing quickly. Even if some developments are cosmetic or non-essential, people are quick to adopt the new thing. Which makes buying long term less appealing than using a service or renting or buying disposable.
Change starts with the people. This trend won’t continue forever and there is already pushback. I do think self-repair, DIY, and purchasing handmade goods can all be part of the antidote but none is going to magically reverse this trend overnight.
We may need to reach a point where technology is developing more slowly in order to see products stay useful and appealing to consumers longer.
I disagree that change necessarily starts with the people.
When something like the Adobe Suite shifts from you buying a product to you subscribing to the suite, that's not because all of us said we wanted this. It follows the gym membership principle, where most of your customers rarely even use the product yet they keep paying for it in case they need it later.
The same is true of things like ebooks and audiobooks. I think most people would be upset if they understood that if audible and amazon disappeared tomorrow, they would lose access to all those books they bought.
The goal with a lot of these tech giants is basically just to make something so convenient and cheap that it destroys your desire to purchase physical things. Often these tech companies are propped up by investors and so they can run at a massive loss for a decade, which leads to spotify destroying the music industry and streaming destroying the film industry.
But I do agree that people are pushing back against this. There's a lot more interest in things that last that aren't at the whims of technological change.
You're right, and another insidious thing that Cory Doctorow often writes about is the ability to repair things, when components are electronically keyed to the item. Even if you can get the part and install it, either it won't work, or you have to pay the manufacturer to code it in for you.
He wrote a novella about it - "unauthorized bread"
Definitely another important point in all this!
Wow is this excellent piece sobering. A related issue is repairs. Back in the day, regular people who were good with their hands could repair old cars and appliances with no special training. I know because my dad kept every piece of machinery inside and outside of the house—cars, mowers, the washer and dryer, dishwasher, fridge, blow dryer, you name it—in good working order. He would scour the classified ads for cheap parts and was able to keep our household running for basically pennies. (And secretly he loved doing it; mechanical repairs were a kind of hobby for him.) Nowadays, this is totally impossible. We need trained experts to fix our stuff, which is why most of the time we just throw broken stuff away and buy a new replacement. So wasteful.
I’m reminded of Barbara Kingsolver’s point in Demon Copperhead, that Appalachian people have a strong independent streak and have throughout their history been self-sufficient, but that that self-sufficiency is no longer possible. The economic system won’t allow it. That is a loss.
Yeah, absolutely. This is a great point.
When I bought my car in 2018, I realized that autoshops are on a short timeline in the future. So many parts and technologies required to work on newer cars are proprietary or sold aftermarket at insane mark up, which means that a 2020 hybrid may be almost unfixable to your neighborhood mechanic, excepting things like oil changes and transmission fluid clean outs.
Any engine or electrical issue? Better go to the dealer! And there are now tens of thousands of electrical components in a car, compared to, perhaps, a hundred in 2010.
Yes, same with my father. Could fix everything and did.
And darning sox!
And sewing on buttons and patching pants!
When I moved some time ago, I was happy that the new residence had an in-unit automatic, new and fancy washing machine. What I discovered though is that the machine is literally programmed to NOT give you a hot wash. The most you can get is extra warm and that's only if you know what settings to pick. It is freaking ridiculous but they make them specifically so you can't even really do your laundry them with the water you want. They enshittified washing machines.
But at least you can now check to see if the wash is finished on your iphone!
I feel like there has never and will never be a time where I need an appliance connected to wifi but that seems to be a big selling point now.
I don't think it's just manufacturing where this applies. Entertainment has become like this, too.
Entertainment production used to follow the same processes that Frederick Taylor used to create the idea of efficiency. The Hollywood studio system was little more than a bunch of factories making movies like manufacturers making household goods. And Berry Gordy, Jr. specifically modeled the production and quality control operations of Motown Records on the practices used by the Big Three automakers in Detroit, one of which he once toiled at.
The problem is that the machines have broken down. Those making the materials are far more concerned with profitability and the preservation of their own livelihoods than actually meeting the needs and desires of their audience. They resurrect popular dead franchises and give them another airing, regardless of what the fans of the original incarnations think. And their whims are never refused: it's almost like the word "no" doesn't exist in their universes.
Some newer machines have come into existence into the 21st century, but they, too, have been corrupted by the mechanics of the older versions, and it's hard to get them under control. They contribute so much to the glut of material available by vomiting up new "content" whenever it is said they must. Unlike those of earlier days, this business model is neither healthy nor stable, but try telling that to the people in charge.
This is probably what Bob Dylan meant when he sang about "everything" being "broken".
Yeah, this is definitely true. I think the further decision makers get from actual production (whether it's entertainment or material goods or whathaveyou), the worse things get.
So when media is steered by a bunch of MBAs who don't have a great love for movies, for example, they're just trying to turn profit rather than worry about quality.
And the sky was bluer back in my days!
Well... I agree with all you said and have the jeans coming apart after 1 year, the fridge that is on it's last leg (9 years) and all the rest, and cars... I sold mine, I don't want to own a car anymore, and I don't need to, inconvenient as it may be. If you think about it, the average car idles what? ~80% of its time throughout the time it is owned? Also, try and repair or so much as to change a bulb in your car yourself today... and yep, I'm on iPhone11. Year 5...
Solution?
RBE? (Resource based economy)
Will never happen.
Yep! I think the inability to repair things is one of the more insidious.
Bought a domestic truck a few years ago, and the power steering went out at 100,000 miles. Got a Toyota last year, and while I haven’t had it long enough to swear to the quality, I’m betting that it will last quite a while longer.
It can even be the founders of the companies misdirecting their energies. Henry Ford was an industrious and ambitious young man, but, by the end of his life, he had become a raving lunatic who had lost total control of his company and mind.
This ties in with the rise of services vs ownership too.
I think part of it legitimately has to do with technology changing quickly. Even if some developments are cosmetic or non-essential, people are quick to adopt the new thing. Which makes buying long term less appealing than using a service or renting or buying disposable.
Change starts with the people. This trend won’t continue forever and there is already pushback. I do think self-repair, DIY, and purchasing handmade goods can all be part of the antidote but none is going to magically reverse this trend overnight.
We may need to reach a point where technology is developing more slowly in order to see products stay useful and appealing to consumers longer.
I disagree that change necessarily starts with the people.
When something like the Adobe Suite shifts from you buying a product to you subscribing to the suite, that's not because all of us said we wanted this. It follows the gym membership principle, where most of your customers rarely even use the product yet they keep paying for it in case they need it later.
The same is true of things like ebooks and audiobooks. I think most people would be upset if they understood that if audible and amazon disappeared tomorrow, they would lose access to all those books they bought.
The goal with a lot of these tech giants is basically just to make something so convenient and cheap that it destroys your desire to purchase physical things. Often these tech companies are propped up by investors and so they can run at a massive loss for a decade, which leads to spotify destroying the music industry and streaming destroying the film industry.
But I do agree that people are pushing back against this. There's a lot more interest in things that last that aren't at the whims of technological change.