Capitalism=deliberate ineffeciancy by design. (not a new thought I imagine)
Rethinking this .. the problem is when the dynamic between the producer and the consumer.. in terms of power, information, organization and control is so drastically SKEWED as it is...
If consumers had their way.. everything would be free and last forever. If producers had their way the cost would always be 'everything you have' and it would last just long enough for you be able to afford a new one. a REAL free market would be intersecting compromise between these two...
But when demand is skewed by a power/knowledge difference twixt producer and consumer .. you get what we have now.. expensive disposable junk. When producers sell to OTHER entities of equal power/knowledge.. they cant use the same tricks and the transactions are a lot more logically conducted.. not 'branding' , not 'look shiny!' but cost per value/quality and reputation.
Its the DISPARITY that drives the.. true sillyness.. because producers via their advertising arm dont just tell us about their product .. they SHAPE the demand and transform the entire equation in ways that favor them in the discourse.
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seriously.. we're all told how inefficient everything BUT capitalism is and how efficient 'free markets' are... but seriously , think about it.
Oil companies want to sell you the most oil they can for the highest profit they can... they'd rather you drove the hugest car you possibly could with only one person in it. Notice most people DO.
Car Companies are happier selling you that huge car for one person because it sells for MORE the margin on small efficient cars, unless theyre super high tech luxury items on thier own is pretty small... notice you dont see a lot of low tech excellence in cars.. The only thing that would make them happier is if people bought a new car every year.. oh wait, they got people doing that for a while too. sometimes to keep up with the jones's .. but often because the planned obselescence of meant 'sell it before it starts to fall apart'
Clothes.. clothiers and shoe makers really would be happier if you bought clothes as often as possible.really I've had shoes that have lasted 40+ years.. really. and clothes that have lasted better than 20. well made clothes can last forever... but *FASHION* conscious people are constantly discarding last years look for this years look. and somewhere in the last few years.. shoes stopped being made to be resolable.. $100 sneakers that last two years.. where a $60 pair of boots could hold up most of a lifetime.....
I'm not saying there isnt an UP side to free markets.. I'm just saying that the 'efficiency' argument has some drag on it.
What free capitalism IS efficient at is using corporations as funnel to channel money UP. Its VERY good at that.
If consumers had their way.. everything would be free and last forever. If producers had their way the cost would always be 'everything you have' and it would last just long enough for you be able to afford a new one. a REAL free market would be intersecting compromise between these two...
But when demand is skewed by a power/knowledge difference twixt producer and consumer .. you get what we have now.. expensive disposable junk. When producers sell to OTHER entities of equal power/knowledge.. they cant use the same tricks and the transactions are a lot more logically conducted.. not 'branding' , not 'look shiny!' but cost per value/quality and reputation.
Its the DISPARITY that drives the.. true sillyness.. because producers via their advertising arm dont just tell us about their product .. they SHAPE the demand and transform the entire equation in ways that favor them in the discourse.
----original entry------------------------------------
seriously.. we're all told how inefficient everything BUT capitalism is and how efficient 'free markets' are... but seriously , think about it.
Oil companies want to sell you the most oil they can for the highest profit they can... they'd rather you drove the hugest car you possibly could with only one person in it. Notice most people DO.
Car Companies are happier selling you that huge car for one person because it sells for MORE the margin on small efficient cars, unless theyre super high tech luxury items on thier own is pretty small... notice you dont see a lot of low tech excellence in cars.. The only thing that would make them happier is if people bought a new car every year.. oh wait, they got people doing that for a while too. sometimes to keep up with the jones's .. but often because the planned obselescence of meant 'sell it before it starts to fall apart'
Clothes.. clothiers and shoe makers really would be happier if you bought clothes as often as possible.really I've had shoes that have lasted 40+ years.. really. and clothes that have lasted better than 20. well made clothes can last forever... but *FASHION* conscious people are constantly discarding last years look for this years look. and somewhere in the last few years.. shoes stopped being made to be resolable.. $100 sneakers that last two years.. where a $60 pair of boots could hold up most of a lifetime.....
I'm not saying there isnt an UP side to free markets.. I'm just saying that the 'efficiency' argument has some drag on it.
What free capitalism IS efficient at is using corporations as funnel to channel money UP. Its VERY good at that.