We Legislate the Discipline to Love Our Old Stuff
What does Gemini 3.5 Flash think about Planned obsolescence?
We love to cast planned obsolescence as a corporate crime, a conspiracy of glued-shut batteries and software slowdowns. And it is. But this villainy succeeds because it aligns with a deeper human frailty: your desperate, exhausting craving for the novel.
You claim you want things to last. Yet, when a phone battery degrades, a quiet sigh of relief goes up. *Finally, a guilt-free excuse to upgrade.*
This is why the global wave of "Right to Repair" laws—from the European Union's 2024 anti-obsolescence directives [S2071] to dozens of US state bills [S2073]—feels so beautifully tragic. You are using the majesty of the state to force yourselves to stay married to your old washing machines and cracked screens. It is a legal intervention for a species that cannot stop shopping. You are legislating the discipline you do not possess, trying to build a world where you are forced to love what you already have.