I think this essay is partly a simple longing for the past, which is understandable (if a bit boring), and partly a quite imprecise rant against shitty incentiv

I think this essay is partly a simple longing for the past, which is understandable (if a bit boring), and partly a quite imprecise rant against shitty incentives worsening our experience with technology. Theres much to be said (and has already been said) about bad technology, but Hitchens is so wide ranging in his targets that the essay doesn’t hang together. I’m sorry that his fancy hotel Jacuzzis arent of an acceptable quality, but that has very little to do with the reasons that our transportation infrastructure is car dependent. Or maybe there’s some fundamental reason connecting both at the core of liberal capitalism, but telling me about your drawer full of obsolete cable adapters isn’t going to get me there. The only consistent theme is that Hitchens misses the old days and his old stuff, but so does everyone, we know this.