Ending the depression through planned obsolescence

by Bernard London

Of course, the inauguration of such a system of planned obsolescence will be opposed by many merely because it is new, for it is hard for us to abandon our old notions and adjust ourselves to a new way of thinking. Unlike most changes for the good of the masses, however, this scheme need not involve much hardship, strife or suffering. That is not necessary. With a reasonable amount of common sense used, the plan ought gradually to work smoothly without much loss to anybody. In war-time we conscript the flower of our country’s manhood, and send them to the front to fight and often be destroyed. If such drastic procedure is deemed wise and necessary in the crisis of war, would it not be far more logical and profitable in our present emergency to conscript the dead things—material, not human—such as obsolete buildings, machinery and outmoded commodities, and send them to the front to be destroyed in the war against depression, thus saving the country from economic chaos by providing work?

It is far cheaper to destroy useless and obsolete goods now, and perhaps some of our synthetic wealth as well, than to risk destroying far more priceless assets, such as human life, and undermining the health and confidence of the people, by continuing to fight the depression with our old, slow and costly methods.

Even in the present organization of our economic society, we recognize in many instances the necessity of destroying some of our wealth in order to increase it. For example, coal is wealth, but it is burned up and destroyed daily in locomotives, furnaces and other devices in order to create power to drive machinery and manufacture goods. Similarly, oil is wealth, but to serve its purpose it must be used and consumed in the engines of automobiles and the whirring wheels of factories. Grain is wealth, but we destroy it by feeding it to cattle, by consuming it ourselves, and by scattering it on the ground as seed to produce more grain. It is by this process that people live, function and create material goods.

Wealth may be compared to our language. Although we use our language every day, it does not get used up. On the contrary, new words and idioms are constantly being added to the national vocabulary, and the language increases in usefulness the more it is spoken, instead of deteriorating.

In olden times, only a few chosen ones, such as kings and priests and nobles, could read and write. The rest of the people were kept in ignorance and poverty. Today, with our standardized and simplified grammar and our mass education, the benefits of literacy are available to everybody, to rich and poor alike.

Such a condition should exist also with respect to the enjoyment of wealth. A minimum standard should be created for everyone, and rich and poor, old and young should participate in its benefits, and profit from its use and management.

Our economic society has advanced little from Medieval times in the distribution of our wealth. We still continue on the basis of our old theories and notions that only the chosen ones should enjoy it.

There is as much wealth in existence as there is time, but people do not visualize it. Wealth, like food, must be digested for human beings to be able to live, function and create—in other words, to produce more wealth. If we want to acquire new wealth, the supply lines must be drained so that fresh commodities can come in. If there are stale goods left in the lines, the fresh supply must force them out.

The cause of our present stagnation is that the supply line or arteries furnishing the needs of the country are clogged with obsolete, outworn and outmoded machinery, buildings and commodities of all kinds. These are obstructing the avenues of commerce and industry and are preventing new products from coming through. There is little demand for new goods when people make their old and worn-out things do, by keeping them longer than they should.

We need to apply better managerial foresight to public affairs. I contend that any business or corporation, public or private, which operates and expects to get an income of several billions of dollars a year from its operations, deserves much attention, and requires thoughtful planning, in order to perfect the machinery of its organization. The aim should be to make it function smoothly in order to satisfy the self-supporting multitudes, by providing them with regular employment at a living wage which will assure the American standard of living.