Why everything you buy is worse now [video]

Interesting video!

I tend to dislike the term "planned obsolescence", because to me it implies that it is done on purpose: "I will ask my engineer to make sure that the product fails right after the warranty". Which of course sounds evil and unlawful.

But most of the time, I think it's more "premature obsolescence": "I will ask my engineer to make sure that the product works (most of the time) AT LEAST until the end of the warranty".

There is a difference between the two: planned obsolescence means that you make the product worse than you could. Premature obsolescence means that you make the product as good as you need (to sell it), though as a society we should agree that this is not long enough/sustainable.

And that's all there in the video: companies don't purposely make shitty products: they optimize their profit. If that means making shitty products, they will (and they do). The solution to that is to make it such that it is more profitable for them to make good products: as a consumer, by buying good products and boycotting shitty ones (though we are not always competent to judge what is a good product). And as a government, one can pass laws (e.g. making it mandatory to have 4 years warranty, or preventing Apple from saying that the warranty won't apply for the microphone because there is a scratch on the screen).