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I dislike this kind of analysis, because it really rests on an unsupported point: "The encrappification of America dates back centuries. While there were, undo
by Noos 6y ago
I dislike this kind of analysis, because it really rests on an unsupported point:
"The encrappification of America dates back centuries. While there were, undoubtedly, once village blacksmiths who forged brittle nails, farm women who adulterated their butter, and tailors who cut corners, these were the exceptions. Most things were made by skilled and reputable hands working with good intentions, supplying the needs of people within local communities. "
That's a tremendous assertion to make, and it's more about the author's particular view of an ideal past than anything. Golden Age thinking tends to assume people were better in the past in some way, as opposed to being like us but just with different challenges to face. It's not really responsible to keep that premise unexamined.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- moogleii 6y agoCase in point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complaint_tablet_to_Ea-nasir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complaint_tablet_to_Ea-nasir Crappy copper ingots circa 1750 BC.
- bobloblaw45 6y agoAlso kinda related is how cocktails were created to mask lousy liquor during prohibition.
- glutinouspigeon 6y agoCocktails have been around since the 1800s. They may have changed a bit during prohibition, but to claim that they were created during that time for that purpose is just wrong.
- jvm___ 6y agoIsn't the first known translated Sumerian clay tablet about some guy complaining about shoddy something that he bought? Or getting ripped off.
- around_here 6y agoThere is zero class analysis in the article, which makes it unworthy of examination.
- uniqueid 6y agoOn the other hand, she seems to have been studying consumer goods for the past decade https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2113660757-Wendy-A-Woloson https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/211366... Not that that means she's right, but presumably she's done some research.
- lionhearted 6y agoThis reminds me of a funny thought I had a while ago — We never talk about it like this, but almost the entire food supply of most places was "organic" until very recently.
- WalterBright 6y agoPeople often say "they don't build houses like they used to" and point to many examples. The trouble is, the crappy houses people used to build have long since been replaced, and only best survive. It's classic confirmation bias. For another example, I own a 1972 Dodge. I love that car, but having taken it apart and put it back together, I know that by almost every metric it is a vastly inferior car from modern cars. But frankly, I love it for its brute force and ignorance approach to performance. I like the crudely made parts, the factory paint drips, the uneven pillar joins, the cheap plastic fake woodgrain dash, the lousy factory paint job, the unapologetically crude method of achieving performance, the utter lack of electronics, etc.