Analysis of Obsolescence
The definition highlights a process or condition of going out of date or being no longer in use. It emphasises a change in attitude through a gradual decline in popularity because a modern alternative becomes available. Obsolescence signifies mortality and transience. There may be little or no degeneration.
Degeneration / Devolution is the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power, vitality or essential quality.
Obsolescence is the economic and cultural foundation of capitalism in its distinctive variety of market driven consumption. It is a progressive and modernising historical force with its stress on what is new, what is created, what is produced. A focus on obsolescence highlights that which is devalued, wasted, destroyed. In modern society all must be made obsolete according to capitalism logic, such that all needs should be satisfied through the consumption of commodities New demands are created to be satisfied in the same way and all needs and their commodified satisfactions should be continually renewed in order to secure continual and expanding consumption. Obsolescence is the material and cultural paradigm of capitalism.
"... from the interest of the glazier in hailstones to the interest of the wayside garage in accidents to motor cars and of the huge railway car shops in the most wasteful methods of transport, there are more examples to hand than we have room to describe of the fact that under capitalism it is impossible to create an interest in production that is not also an interest in decay and destruction".
(Webb. S & Webb. B -The Decay of Capitalist Civilization. London, The Fabian Society. 1923: 71-72).
Each of us has an individual demand for particular goods and services and the level of demand at each market price reflects the value that consumers place on a product, service or practice and their expected satisfaction gained from purchase and consumption. Obsolescence is an indicator of falling demand and how well the process of function is performed, from a human perspective. The commodifying dynamics of industrial capitalism and `modernization' also generate other forms of cultural obsolescence including languages, cultural practices, traditions, vernacular knowledge and skills, farmed and wild genetic diversity and so on. Planned and unintended unemployment results in millions of obsolete people.
Obsolescence is a process by which manufacturers make defective products on purpose so that the consumer will be forced to replace it.
ReplyDeleteOur assumptions were that “the higher the consumption a country has, the bigger the impact on the environment”, as well as “Modern consumption is an unsustainable, self-destructive chain.”
ReplyDeleteObsolescence is intimately tied to the idea of higher consumption; if products were not obsolete we would use them forever and never buy more. While this might halt an economy, it would help the environment. And since obsolescence is purposefully planned and set into our culture, this feeds into the unsustainable circle of linear consumption of resources that are doomed to run out.
ReplyDeleteConsumption increases trade between countries, which has the potential to raise global awareness and cultural understanding between nations.
ReplyDeletePeoples’ consumption is strongly related to the pursuit of happiness
Modern consumer mentality has skewed the definition of need vs. want
Is the economy still viable without the “western culture of consumption”?
Where does the “need” for people to consume come from?
The need to consume comes from the human need to evolve therefore it is very likely that we will consume more and more even though we need to reverse the situation in order to survive. A good portion of the world’s population buys only what they really like and need. And they make the fullest use of it. Some of these people are environmentally conscious and some are not but these type of people consume the least. As we evolve the need for consumption will keep on growing and there is no stopping it. However, a lot of advancements have taken place in this generation for the benefit of the global economy and all we can do is hope for a scientific miracle to happen which can reverse the current consumption patterns in order to save earth’s precious energy sources.
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