Simply put, mass production. The cost (and value) of nearly all manufactured goods have dramatically fallen relative to average incomes. Consumers have access t

Simply put, mass production. The cost (and value) of nearly all manufactured goods have dramatically fallen relative to average incomes. Consumers have access to a much wider range of goods with a much wider range of attributes. In the global west (and increasingly in middle-income Asia) we live in an age of abundance. I think it's overwhelmingly a positive thing that we no longer cherish the few possessions that we have, because we have built a world in which increasingly large numbers of people have the luxury of choice. I don't want an antique set of china, because my dishwasher will probably ruin it. I don't want silver salt and pepper shakers, because I prefer freshly ground black pepper and there are a much wider range of condiments that might go on my table. I don't want a roll-top desk, because my office is oriented around a computer rather than papers. Like a rotary telephone, most of these objects were designed to serve the needs of people who lived very different lives to me. Unlike previous generations, I have the privilege of being able to very cheaply buy things that suit my needs, rather than having to settle for what I can afford, what I am gifted or what I inherit. If you happen to value any of those things, then you're in luck - they're available in abundance, like most things you might want to own.