Miphee wrote on 2021-05-24, 10:03:
That's also a good thing if you think about it. Consumerism means more job opportunities for people that decreases unemployment and increases economic growth. The more people have disposable income the more they spend. The more they spend the more the economy grows. It's a very basic presentation of a complicated process but the point stands. If I design an item that lasts 30 years then people won't need a new one for a very long time. So why would companies put money into R&D when people only buy an item every 30 years? Instead they started designing them to last 5-10 years and put the excess profit into developing new models every few years. Some of those models are bad but some are excellent and groundbreaking. New models require more parts, more suppliers, more workers. Everybody gets a slice and that puts food on the table.
Not to mention the advantages of a huge selection of items in every price range. You don't have to spend a fortune to get the latest tech anymore.
Having been in the doors at pretty much every tech company, yes they believe this, even among the famous ones that publicly decry consumerism. It's just their model is better, just trust them what they say, right?
All I can say, is consumerism seems great in the short term. But eventually your consumers will catch on that they are being gamed and look for an alternative (one alternative is to stop buying together) and the bubble breaks. It will happen. Wouldn't you rather have your economy be based on honesty, so that so many people won't get hurt by the facade breaking down?
I guess for one final point, I am seeing people lately point out tools built 80-100 years ago, built better and still work today, but are not made anymore. The things built today do not work as well or last as long. Eventually the old tools will be impossible to find for the everyday person. Why haven't we made replacement tools built to the same quality? People are looking for them right now. In some ways, you can say the same thing about software. There is value in pointing out old software that is great and our attempts at preservation will be good for future generations to study. Adobe and others should be ashamed. Profit and making jobs that don't last should not really be all we care about.