Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America PART III

The final part to Slade's "Made to Break" was the so-called "eye-opener" that was mentioned in the brief synopsis of the book (written on the back cover). Chapters 7 and 8 continued to talk about the progression of technology and how that attributed to America's obsolescence, from chips to video games to even weapons. The final chapter, however, brought all of the factors together and presented a question that I realize we should all think hard about.

It was interesting to see how the development and improvements of chips led to a whole series of drama between different companies and products. My favorite one, though, was of video games (p. 216). It started out with one simple game that was developed on the side by an engineer (p. 217). In just a short amount of time, the video game industry expanded so much that consumers went on a 'strike,' refusing to buy anything because there were too much to choose from (p. 221). At first, I thought this was hilarious. Who would have thought Americans would complain about having too much? Yet, when I saw the devastating effects of the strike on the majority of the video game companies, it wasn't so funny anymore.

I didn't really get how obsolescence related to weaponizing and the Cold War besides the one little mention of how faulty weapons were sold to the Soviets but it was kind of cool to see all the different aspects of the Cold War play out. The espionages for technology, the drama between Reagan, the French, the Soviets, and Gun Weiss (who realized early on that Soviets were keeping up with spies) was intense!

Finally comes Slade's overall point: obsolescence in America (and the world) is getting dangerous. Cell phones and other electronical devices are being thrown away earlier than when they are supposed to function until (p. 261). Advertising by firms as well as new marketing strategies encourage dissatisfaction, meaning people will be more inclined to buy new products to change their dissatisfaction into satisfaction. This conditioning also seemed to have led to the development of "neophilia," the love of new things, as coined by Campbell (p. 266).

So what can we do?
As a society, anything to reverse our mentality. Slade gives several suggestions as possible solutions to the problems of obsolescence and overflow of dangerous waste. Programs for taking back, reusing, and recyling products can prevents consumers from wasting. Spreading awareness among consumers can also achieve that goal, as a more informed consumer will be less likely to waste than an ignorant one. These are just few possibilities. What we have to think about amongst ourselves is how else can we change the way we are? I wish there was a way to stop the advertising that advocates obsolescence but especially as a business major, I know that it's not possible (unless the government intervenes, which would cause even more problems in itself). Hopefully, we will be able to welcome the new industrial challenge, as Slade calls it, with open arms.