Day 23 - Planned Obsolescence is of the Past

In an article in Le Monde Diplomatique, a solution was suggested for the problem of overconsumption. Overconsumption is a relevant problem to study, because it gives us an overal indicator of the time that the human species has left on earth. All creaturs on earth 'consume' in some form or shape - but what sets humans apart is that we have started to 'overconsume'. We use more things than ever before but we also throw away more things than ever before. Our consumption is overall generating an imbalance in our world. Some research suggests that the rate of consumption per individual in the industrialised world, is the determining factor behind the environmental crisis (global warming, deforestation, pollution of the oceans, pollution of the air, extinction of the majority of animal species, etc.).

The solution in said article tacles one issue in particular: planned obsolescence.

What would it take to go from a throw-away society to a society that honours it's environment and it's recources? Stopping planned obsolescence seems an obvious place to start. If we start producing and building items that are made to actually last - then we remove one of the causes of our widescale pollution. This in itself would undermine many of the current frameworks on which the world economy is based - yet, this is a decision that will one day have to be made.

A shift in this direction would allmost automatically uplift local economies as production, repair and maintenance of products, will result in more localised models of production. Herewith replacing 'globalised' models of production (where products are produced and shipped from lowcost countries overseas.) The article points out that in Europe for instance a minimum 2 year warranty exists on products, as per EU legislation. The article then suggests that warranties should be used to create an incentive for stronger and better products. Consequently the minimum warranty on products should be at least 10 years by law. 

From my perspective this idea has a lot of potential and should be explored and discussed.

Who would you be if you bought items that last you for 10 or 20 years because you know you can always find services that repair your broken items and replace broken parts? Is life really about buying new stuff - or is there some other meaning to it all which you have not yet discovered? 

Note to the reader: this blog was written several years ago, but never published because I was uncertain of myself. The blog remained saved as a draft and I had forgotten that I even wrote it. Amazing how that works... Today I post it, without having altered a single word of the draft. It's a good blog, no need to doubt myself.