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We can't save the planet or ourselves because it's not profitable.
by FirmwareBurner 3y ago
We can't save the planet or ourselves because it's not profitable.
- robertlagrant 3y agoSelling brake pads that don't wear out would be immensely profitable. Things people want get bought.
- FirmwareBurner 3y agoI dunno mate. If I were a brake pad salesman I'd prefer they last less not more.
- robertlagrant 3y agoSo? There would only be one "brake pad salesman" left, who would sell indestructible brake pads to car manufacturers, and all the others would go bust.
- FirmwareBurner 3y agoRight. It's not like they can form a cartel and collectively decide how long a brake pad should last, just like the incandescent light bulb cartel [1] of the early 20th century or the NAND flash memory cartel of the 21st century. Mate you're far too naive to believe what you're saying. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel
- samatman 3y agoA theoretical cartel can do precisely nothing, since it's a mere mental construct. It takes an actual cartel to fix prices (ignoring as a distraction the fact that the link you provide gives several good reasons to think that planned obsolescence was not the primary factor in the lifetime of incandescent bulbs). There is no brake pad cartel. If there is, demonstrate it. If not, again, an imaginary cartel can only do imaginary things. It can't do real things.
- FirmwareBurner 3y agoI'm gonna let you reflect on what you just said.
- samatman 3y agoTranslation: you have no coherent response to what I said, and don't like that, so you figured a bit of snark might recover some dignity. It's better to simply not reply.
- FirmwareBurner 3y agoI gave you my argument in detail above with sources that companies routinely collude in anti-consumer ways, but you decided to strick your fingers in your ears and sing "lalala I don't believe you". Therefore I have no more replies for you to protect my sanity. Feel free to believe whatever you want to believe, just leve me be, i have no duty to waste my time to change your opinion of something you're fixated on.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- robertlagrant 3y ago> with sources that companies routinely collude in anti-consumer ways Was this your link that said "there was a cartel in an industry once"? That doesn't seem to demonstrate a general issue.
- samatman 3y agoThe link that says "although there is vigorous disagreement about whether 1000 days was a good technical standard or a case of planned obsolescence, a cartel did exist, and there are sources which say it was to use planned obsolescence to sell more bulbs". Inconveniently, longer-lasting bulbs emit less light, and more heat. If you remember the heat of a 100W incandescent bulb, perhaps you might see the fire hazard in encouraging bulb companies to compete on the basis of bulb life. But no matter. This definitely demonstrates that there's a brake pad cartel, right now, doing the same thing. By implication, you see.
- robertlagrant 3y agoIf you think incandescant lightbulbs could last forever, and no one would break ranks to cash in on this universally better product, that's fine of course. It just sounds unlikely.