this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2024
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My uncle bought a used car built in communist east Germany. He always emphasized how it was built like a tank to last. Capitalism is great and all, but it promotes waste. Companies have an incentive to make products that fail and need to be repurchased. Planned obsolescence is fine if it was only about people craving something better. As it stands, it’s more of a forced switch with breakable parts.
Communist West Germany? You mean East Germany?
Because I lived there when the Wall came down, and I can tell you based on the huge influx of Eastern Germans who had floorboards you could see through that quality was not a priority.
they don't mean quality as in nice. They mean quality as in it still exists.
Those wooden floor boards are probably still there, to this day. Still shitty, but there.
It's not a mystery which of the car might've been available in East Germany.
Trabants aren't exactly known for being long lasting.
More it still exists because they were literally incapable of replacing it. They weren't good quality; people just didn't have any other options. I'm sure we can make our cars last just as long if we clamp the screws tighter and ensure no one can afford to buy a new car.
doubtful, if you look at the differences between a lot of soviet engineering and a lot of western engineering, the western engineering is often much nicer, but also rather temperamental in terms of long term maintenance. It's certainly possible, but it's just a different design meta. Especially if we're talking modern western equipment, which is designed to be "service life only"
Sometimes you stuck gold. Got one of those amazing Philips electric kettles 20 years ago. Works like new still. Of course they don't make them anymore.