Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America

By Giles Slade

Book Overview

Presents the history of 20th Century technology as seen through the prism of obsolescence. This book shows us the ideas behind obsolescence at work in American milestones such as the inventions of branding, packaging and advertising; the contest for market dominance between GM and Ford; and more.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674022033
• ISBN13: 9780674022034
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.3" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Part of a Larger Story

This is one of the best of the "toxic tech" books in current view, by no means completely original, and certainly not the whole story. It gets five stars for its niche. In relation to other books, for example, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution; The Ecology of Commerce; The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals; Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy; any of the books on Peak Oil, and the original book on the down side of industrialization, Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution, and the Industrial System it falls to a lower level. What is most important is the emerging literature on Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things We should be LEASING tools and appliances with short lives. The manufacturer should--as that literature recommends--be required to take back the discarded item, and plan for upgrades that do not require the discarding of the entire unit. See also: High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power A Consumer's Dictionary of Household, Yard and Office Chemicals: Complete Information About Harmful and Desirable Chemicals Found in Everyday Home Products, Yard Poisons, and Office Polluters

An interesting look at obsolescence

Giles Slade opens this monograph with a flurry of astounding facts: in 2004, 315 million working PCs were thrown out in North America alone, and in the following year over 100 million cell phones joined them on the trashheap. That's tons of electronic equipment-larded with non-biogradable components and toxic waste-filling up garbage dumps around the world. What drives this rush to trash? According to Slade, it obsolescence, rather than failure. Your last computer likely didn't wear out-you junked it because a faster, lighter, and spiffier one came out. Since the Great Depression, it's been clear that consumption, rather than production, drives the economy. With America getting more efficient at producing goods, it follows that, to precent another economic downturn, someone has to convince people to buy more goods. Slade traces the roots of "repetitive consumption back to the beginnings of branding and packaging in the middle of the 19th century. Over time, the American ethic of thrift collapsed before social pressures to buy new, rather than save the old. The first several chapters nicely sketch the cultural changes-and their underlying economic drivers-that created the annual model change. Similarly, producers began obliquely discussing "planned obsolescene." This could mean, in the case of automobiles, that the customer would decide on his own to buy a more up-to-date car in the latest model, or, in some cases, that internal components unable to be replaced would fail after a set lifespan. "Death dating" products was a controversial practice, but many in various industries (particularly consumer electronics) supported it. The author is at his best when he is talking about the pivotal players-such as GM's Alfred Sloan and RCA's David Sarnoff-and the modern development of planned obsolescence. He also deftly handles the transition from mechanical obsolescence to psychological obsolescence-the thing that makes some people buy a new car every two years, despite the fact that their old one still works fine. Advertising and marketing efforts convinced the public that, in almost every case, newer was better. Slade uncovers just how our disposable goods, from razors to Razrs, came to be. The book veers slightly in a chapter on "Weaponizing Obsolescence," which details a compex scheme under which American counter-espionage agents allowed the Soviets to "steal" plans for technology that was designed to fail. While it's a compelling story-you can easily see that this is a screenplay in the making-it takes the book a little off course, and might have been better as a standlone article or book in its own right. Also, there might have been more discussion of another force driving disposable electronics: rising wages and lower costs of finished goods. The parts needed to repair your broken DVD player are probably not expensive, but buying an hour of a trained mechanic's time to repair it is likely more than the original cost. Therefore, it makes more se

Smart, engaging history

This book ain't perfect. Slade neglects to carefully distinguish planned obsolescence from other sorts. And the Cold War chapter really doesn't belong in the book. But there are no conspiracy theories here; the only conspiracy in Slade's argument is the profit motive. That is, to the extent that selling products with a short lifespan is more profitable than the alternative, companies will seek to do it. Far from being a lunatic "theory," this is marketing 101. And Slade -- as Vance Packard did before him -- documents it with the words of marketers themselves. Libertarians who believe that the market delivers only teddy bears and chocolates aren't going to like this book. But for the rest of us, it's an engaging, critical look at how we got to a place where $400 music players and fancy cell phones have become throwaway items.

Must read Book About the Environment

Giles Slade makes clear in his new book, Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America, that while American history is often portrayed as the history of innovation, it is also the history of waste. The book covers the development of our "throw-away ethic." This book examines the issue of "planned obsolescence" and its role in causing Americans to buy more products than what they could have done if companies were more committed to quality. Planned obsolescence leads to a product having a "death date." Slade's book also looks at how such developments as annual models of cars led to consumers getting rid of good vehicles for more trendy replacements. Psychological obsolence leads to obsessive purchasing every bit as much as technological obsolescence. Both company advertising and consumer's love of the new have helped lead to an explosion in both sales of new products and also the amount of garbage that is disposed of every year. Slade also points out how the huge increase in the number of electronic gadgets only leads to more and more potentially damaging waste products being disposed of. That is because electronic trash contains Permanent Biological Toxins (PBT's). Slade's book contains a number of eye popping stories about the machinations of entrepreneurs and businessmen alike. This is a must read book.