> I often think that old, high quality goods
Survivor bias plays a huge role as well. No one remembers the dishwasher that broke after 6 months 30 years ago when they were 5. Everyone remembers the one that kept on chugging for 40 years at grandma’s.
> like cars,
OTOH modern cars are much more robust and their engines last much longer with lower maintenance. It’s infuriating when there is an electronic issue and we need to change the computer, but overall integration has its benefits.
> audio gear,
CAD improved a lot. We can now have better speakers much smaller than what we used to have. Much cheaper as well, because through computer design we can make much more complex parts with better properties. It’s the same thing with photography. Modern lenses are insane if you ask someone who’s done it since the 1970s. They have more than 10 optical elements, have insane reach (hand holding a 300mm was very impractical except in the brightest weather).
What we have in our phones is mind boggling if you think about it a little (both optics and speakers).
> plastics, furniture,
A lot of furniture was crap back then as well. It’s interesting because to me the epitome of rubbish furniture that disintegrates over time with horrible discoloured plastic is the 1979s and 1980s. Any random book case you can get now from Ikea is miles better.
> colours that don’t fade
We have loads of synthetic pigments that are much better than what we used to have, without arsenic, uranium, lead, or cadmium.
> Which kind of makes me sad for the future and sad for the past.
That’s normal, and there are a lot of things that are rubbish now. But let’s try to keep a clear view and some critical thinking: a lot of things are also much better.