Used book – Fit for the scrap heap: The irrationality of planned obsolescence, Serge Latouche, Elise Roy

Planned obsolescence is an astonishing process that was designed and implemented in the mid-19th century in the United States to develop our addiction to consumption and thus make us captive to the economic system. Of the three forms of planned obsolescence – the use of techniques to make a product obsolete, and advertising to convince us to acquire new goods that we don't need – the most symptomatic and perverse is the introduction of a defective part into products to limit their lifespan. Light bulbs (even though they were designed by an engineer in the 19th century to have an unlimited life), cars, household appliances, computers... most of the goods we consume are deliberately given a limited lifespan so that