The Waste Makers

The Waste Makers by Vance Packard

I often think of older products being made to last longer with higher quality, replaceable parts. However, this book, written ini 1960, laments the poor quality and planned obsolescence at the time.  I guess no matter how bad things are now, they can get worse. Some areas seem to be carrying right on with the tend line outlined. Other areas may have gotten a bit carried away. He praises Japan for getting population growth under control. They sure did. Now there population has been declining rapidly. 

Much of the waste is in the mindset. Companies want people to buy new things. They update products frequently to drive new sales. They add gimmicks (such as fins on cars) that differentiate, even at the expense of greater resource consumption. Media has become part of the marketing machine. (It was interesting to read that there may have been an alternative. We take the influence of media so much for granted today.) So much of our society is predicated on waste. On one hand it is depressing. However, it does mean there is a lot of area for improvement.