Made to Break: Part One

In the first half of Made to Break by Giles Slade, the topic of planned obsolescence is the major theme. “Planned obsolescence is the catch-all phrase used to describe the assortment of techniques used to artificially limit the durability of a manufactured good in order to stimulate repetitive consumption.” (p.5) Slade explains that America is one of the world’s most wasteful nations and that this is no mere accident. This causes us to question the psychology of our nation. “What can be said of a culture whose legacies to the future are mounds of hazardous materials and a poisoned water supply?” (p.7) He starts from the beginning of mass production and how, even then, we were creating things with the intent to throw them away.

            What I found most interesting in this reading was learning about the beginnings of things that we as Americans take for granted. For example, as a female, the disposable razor and women’s sanitary items are God-sends. Just thinking about what it would be like to not have those items makes me think how horrible life could be. Of course I am being overly dramatic; however, this further proves Slade’s point that Americans have become so reliant on the ease of throw-away items they forget that there was a time when these things did not exist. Thus, proving that Americans look for the ease and modernism in things rather than the thrift of reusable items.

            The biggest example Slade used was the automobile market. He talked about the beginnings of Ford and GM, along with their still apparent rivalry. While Ford focused on craftsmanship and durability, GM focused on giving consumers the newest and most modern styles and was less focused on durability. This gave GM the competitive edge because people were/are obsessed with anything new. This “trading-up” mindset has been forever engrained into our society in every aspect of consumerism. I really enjoyed how Slade commented on how women back then/ today were more focused on their car’s appearance than the inner workings. As a woman, I do not know the first thing about cars so when I bought my first car I was more concerned with how it looked and not how it ran. My dad soon convinced me otherwise, and I am proud to say that my first car from junior year of high school is still my current car today (6 years later). This aesthetic view on consumerism is apparent in everything. “Obsolescence of style-a specialized kind of psychological obsolescence-focuses consumer attention on the visual or design features of conspicuously consumed personal items, ranging from cars, cell phones, clothing, hats, jewelry, laptops, lighters……etc.” (p.50)