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Friday 28 August 2015

Engineered Human Obsolescence

Rifling through the Investopedia website I found a header entitled dictionary. Contained within their lexicon, is the definition of a manufacturing phrase entitled "Planned Obsolescence". For those unsure as to the meaning of this term, the following is an excerpt from the Investopedia dictionary.

A manufacturing decision by a company to make consumer products in such a way that they become out-of-date or useless within a known time period. The main goal of this type of production is to ensure that consumers will have to buy the product multiple times, rather than only once. This naturally stimulates demand for an industry's products because consumers have to keep coming back again and again. Products ranging from inexpensive light bulbs to high-priced goods such as cars and buildings are subject to planned obsolescence by manufacturers and producers.
Also known as "built-in obsolescence".


Even though I have been involved in sales for almost 40 years, I find the choices corporations make as they engineer obsolescence into their manufactured products extremely offensive. Frustrating as it is to witness a sea of crap being shoved down the collective consumer gullet; I can't really blame the corporations. After all, plenty of laws mandate that shareholders' interests, in the form of profit, must be held above all other considerations. Progress, relative to combating the concerning trend of planned obsolescence must be consumer driven. Are you prepared to use your buying dollar as a stick to coerce manufacturers toward conscientious habits? Venturing into the marketplace to satiate the needs and desires of self or family, it is incumbent upon each of us to reflect carefully upon where, when, and perhaps even why, we spend our hard-earned currency.

When I was a boy, things were quite different. I remember well the 67' straight six, Chrysler Valiant, that little car could easily give you half a million miles without one major problem. I personally have met Valiant owners who, after 50 years of great performance, discover their car is still as reliable as any new car on the road today. More to the point; when the 2014 models hit the road in the 2020 driving season, their owners will have already replaced most of the core components like the transmission, drive train, starter, exhaust, timing belt and alternator. All the while, the little 67' Valiant will still be purring along, problem free. Anyone who remembers the quality of manufactured products from fifty years past will, I am sure, happily confirm they represented the golden years of industrial manufacturing. Corporate pride, in the form of product durability, quality, fit and finish, has taken a back seat to profit-hungry engineering teams manufacturing products designed to fail.

The next time you see a racy girl flashing big boobs and an alluring smile while she grinds her hips into the bumper of a hot, equally sexy, 2015 Ford Mustang, remember this.
Ford's engineering team can tell you the exact number of miles at which each of their major components will be designed to last. Thousands of parts, all deliberately designed to fail at a specific time. Modern materials, coupled with advancements in technology, have enabled manufacturers who can easily design a vehicle that can prove faithful to their owners for over a century. However, the practice of creating a durable product doesn't cotton with Ford shareholders. You see, Ford Corporation, like all major manufacturers, know the real profits are in figuring out how quickly they can sell you the next hot, new, commodity. Why should they be satisfied with a consumer who buys one car in a lifetime when they could buy 5, 6 or more. How many cars have you purchased over the decades? All in all, I am a conservative consumer, always doing my level best to eke out the most value and life from the goods I purchase. Although most would deem me a thoughtful shopper, bordering on cheapskate, I must admit there are many ways I could do more to limit, or at least curb, personal extravagance. Witnessing daily the insatiable passion for novelty, variety and excessiveness as expressed by the average citizen, I must admit it seems futile to further modify my consumptive habits.

Conservation, however, should not be born solely of a need to preserve the planet, save precious resources or reduce waste. Conservative consumption seems, to me, a purely pragmatic and logical pursuit. Wasting the gifts we are given represents an illogical show of disrespect to the individuals who take the time to produce, ship and distribute the widgets we consume. Every manufactured product is derived from a resource of both labour and source materials. Source materials, in an environment rich with opportunity and innovation, are less of a concern than the ultimate gift which is time. Therefore, choosing to replace or discard something which has not been used to its full potential highlights one's ignorance, as well, as expresses a distinct lack of foresight.

In a magical world, where profits and money do not exist; we can assume every manufacturer would produce goods and services designed to the ultimate capacity afforded by the industrial technology of the day. Instead of striving to enhance volume, food would be produced with nutrition as the paramount concern. Products, derived as much as possible from renewable resources, would be designed with function, longevity and economy in mind. Services, in the perfect world, would be fulfilled from a well of wholesome ideologies where gifting, family, community, sharing and love prevail. In this imaginary world, devoid of money, profit, and greed, we would discover a bounty for all of humanity. Beyond the physical treasures produced by not-for-profit manufacturing, we would discover we have given each other the most precious gift of all, time.

The mechanics of this philosophy is easy to illustrate. First and foremost, we accept the notion every human is entitled to a standard of living which extends beyond basic needs. Quality food, water, housing, health and education are essentials all must enjoy. Why stop with the basics; travel, leisure, philosophy, art and even extravagance, just for the fun of it, are all fundamental needs we all should consider essential. How do we have our cake and eat it too? Take money and profits out of the equation, all of a sudden, two big changes occur. Manufacturers of goods and providers of services would naturally gravitate toward an enhancement in product quality and lifespan. Common sense, as well as experience, suggests, making a better mousetrap and you won't have to replace it as often. Secondly; goods and services produced to a higher standard means the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sales machines will require fewer iterations to meet the consumers' lifetime needs. Less demand on production will then translate into a shorter work week for all. History has proven, more "free time" provides humans with a better shot at enjoying their full range of potential. Philosophy, art, music, poetry and creative writing are just a few of the valuable end products enjoyed by a society that places a high value on leisure. Corporate greed, hypocrisy and usury have been forged as chains of enslavement. The human spirit has been trampled, and our voice of reason has been quelled. Silent witnesses, we have become an all-encompassing corporate domination of the human race.  

I imagine most of you who read this are nodding in agreement. This, you say, is not news. Having long since been privy, even inured, to the fact big corporate manufacturers don't have our best interests at heart, we ignore their indiscretions. Irrespective of what we might feel, marketing geniuses adeptly prod, juice up and tickle our fancies, convincing us, bigger is better baby! Newer is cooler! Put it on the plastic, you deserve it all! Society has developed an obsession with material gratification. The state of material abuse has become so flagrant, our sense of self is now based upon what we own, rather than our philosophy, or more importantly, our capacity to share love. Filling our already cluttered homes with more junk, each of us knows the excessive and useless waste of engineered obsolescence is not limited to the auto industry. Toasters, refrigerators, ovens, televisions, pods, widgets, and gadgets of near-infinite count or capacity are all manufactured with the same nefarious intent. It seems to me there is hardly a consumable which has not been carefully crafted by an astute engineer to have a given expiry date. Use it up, chuck it on a garbage heap, and then buy another. Bigger, faster, better, is the mantra of consumptive insanity. Look around you, is there anything in your home that has not been engineered to die? Let me peek at my home, we can check off the list together; TV, coffee table, couch, pyjamas, no argument so far it's all crap..... lamps, bulbs, slippers, CDs, stereo, telephone, coffee cup, myself.

Hey wait a minute, did I just say myself!

Could it really be true, are corporations carefully engineering my death?

No way, it's a stupid thought! Right!

It can't be true.... can it?

If corporations are truly engineering our demise, I guess the first task at hand would be to establish whether or not we humans are less healthy today than fifty or a hundred years ago. Most people today accept the WHO website as the quintessential provider of both health statistics and life expectancy charts. Although I doubt sound statistical reporting from an organization as corrupt as the WHO is even possible, I will at least cede to this source as being comprehensive. Snooping around the Internet I was able to quickly dredge up the following WHO headlines and global health statistics.

When reviewing the statistics to follow, remember organisations, like the WHO, are run by the same corporate power brokers who are in the business of killing us. With this in mind, common sense suggests the WHO would, more than likely, doctor data with an intent to hide the extent of damage their corporate masters afflict upon the populous. At the very least, one might consider it reasonable to advocate this data would be skewed toward conservatism.

1. WHO expects cancer to rise globally by 70% over the next two decades.
2. Global obesity doubles in the last 30 years
3. WHO Headline "The worldwide rise of chronic non-communicable diseases: a slow-motion catastrophe"
4. Autism epidemic sweeps across Western Europe and North America, with a more than 100-fold increase in the last half-century.
5. CDC and WHO reports lung disease will significantly increase over the next few decades as a result of global warming and related climate change. (Nice bit of mind programming there)
6. Parkinson's disease doubles globally in 25 years.
7. 68% increase in Alzheimer's disease in America over the last decade.
8. Heart disease rises in America by 24% over the last decade.
9. Strokes on the rise by 13% globally from 2000 - 2010
10. Pharmaceuticals becoming the 4th leading cause of death in America.

Having briefly, albeit loosely, investigated the rise of the big five (first world) killer diseases; cancer, lung disease, neurological degeneration, heart disease and stroke, it would appear a strong argument could be made to indicate humans, in first world countries, are not getting healthier. Further to the disquieting health revelations indicated by the aforementioned statistics; one would anticipate life expectancy charts indicating diminishing health in first-world zones.

Surprisingly (not really) there are no documents, charts or colour illustrations to indicate the life expectancy of first-world citizens is in decline. Case in point; check the WHO link below, their high falutin', colour-coded, interactive, charts paint a clear picture of a slow and very steady rise in the life expectancy of people in all first world countries. Third-world countries which have dealt with systemic war, famine or natural disasters provide the only sense of decline or fluctuation in life expectancy charts.

WHO Life Expectancy Charts and Graphs (CLICK THIS LINK)

Contrary to interactive charts, as illustrated by the above link, we need only open our eyes to determine how our physical reality severely contrasts the rosy picture of life expectancy portrayed by officialdom. The WHO, and similar organizations, would have us believe that as time advances humans around the globe are living longer, better, healthier lives. However, much as I would like to share their expressed optimism, I find it difficult to rationalise their own conflicting reports. In one breath they issue warnings about a rampant rise in disease, while in the very next breath, they illustrate a steady rise in life expectancy. Is it just me, or does anyone else see the big shit-dropping elephant in the living room? Let's see, all major diseases are on the rise, not to mention, the list of countless other contributing factors to ill health; environmental contaminants, factory farming, soil deterioration, heavy metal contamination, spiralling carcinogens, GMO, EMF radiation, rampant suicide, poverty, homelessness, austerity, hunger, diminishing food and water quality, chem-trails, pharmacological murder, just to name a few, yet somehow, they want us to believe we are living longer lives.


Need I say more to make my point?

Are we to believe the lies and inconsistencies of data? Does it make any sense at all that poorer health, diminishing living standards, excessive poverty and a messed up environment somehow magically equate to a longer life expectancy?

The way I see it we can either dismiss their lies or hide our collective heads in the sand. Either way, the facts don't lie, health in the first world is in a severe decline. World leaders are banking on a dumbed-down humanity that will fail to decipher the truth. Distracted by pop culture, we rip at each other's throats and faithfully serve our corporate masters as we compete for the gold ring. Evidence confirms, as long as there exists the tiniest sliver of hope we can eke out a rightful place in the tattered "American Dream", we will continue to ignore the conspiratorial trends of the obvious corporate soft kill agenda.

Considering I have cut my jib on statistical data scrounged up by a quick Internet search, it would be rude of me to not point out that the data is dubious at best. I suspect, it would be rather easy to spend an hour or so with the Oracle thereby generating an assortment of evidence in support of WHO claims advocating humanity is in fact living longer. With a smidgen of effort, I might produce equally compelling data suggesting; improvements in technology, hospital procedure, medicine, toxicology and pharmacology all contribute to the steady rise in life expectancy.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you how much I find graphs, charts and statistical data to represent jaded information. Life experience has proven, time and again, those who pay to assemble statistical positions will always skew the data in favour of the storyline they wish to portray. Having stated my reticence to pay homage to statistics, I advocate that when we bear in mind, the motives, track record and objectives of the sources, exceptional value can be derived from how corporate run NGO's like the WHO might twist data to manufacture conclusions in support of the greater corporate vision. Statistical misrepresentation can assist the conspiracy theorist in puzzling together a snapshot of how corporate planned human obsolescence might manifest. Observing how humanity meets its needs, exposing corporate agendas, and uncovering government protocols, will enable logical conclusions.

THE CORPORATE SOFT KILL AGENDA AND YOU!!!

Do we need to pay attention?

Should we change our future?

Are they trying to carve out of humanity a manageable and renewable resource?

Or, am I overheating a pot of conspiratorial soup, ready at any moment, to boil over and stink up the room?

Together, over the next two instalments, we will use observation, logic, and reason, to answer these important questions.


15 comments:

  1. Hi Christopher I've been awaiting your next entry cause I knew it would be crammed full of valuable information and wisdom as per usual. You have a great way of breaking things down so someone like myself can get a better understanding of what is going on. Have you ever thought about going into the political arena? Nah, probably not cause most of those who are truly enlightened shudder at the thought of going there! This is a great post old buddy and I for one surely appreciate you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with all of us. Keep up the good work! And as always the very best to you and yours!

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    1. Namaste brother Ron, thanks for the visit and kind words. This was a post I had been meaning to get started for a while.

      In Lak' ech, prosper with love... love with peace...

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  2. Dear brother Chris

    May the new year bring you excellent health and plenty of time to share your enlightening wisdom

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    1. Namaste Sito, thanks for the visit. It is such a pleasure to have you writing again, all the best.

      In Lak' ech, prosper with joy .... live with love...

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  3. love the title, very thoughtful. Keep writing =)

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    1. Hello sister Bani, thanks for stopping by, always a pleasure to share with friends.

      In Lak' ech, prosper with love... live with knowledge...

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  4. Great article Chris. Like you I feel increasingly out of line with the ways of the world that surround me. From the two options you state, I choose to "dismiss their lies", rather than burying my head in the sand. I see and I don't accept, but I don't get involved at that level. There is another way of course - which I am confident that you are working your way towards in future instalments - the new paradigm of love, light, peace, and balance.

    I do see the future a bit differently from your description Chris, though this is a matter of opinion, and I have a long track record of calling such things wrongly! That said, my conception of the "magical world" of the future is rather one where there will be no industrial technology or manufacturing, and no concept of "product", nor of money - and whatever is made will be made by hand... However, like you, I envision that they will be crafted "for the love of creation, and made to last lifetimes", and that "food would be produced with nutrition as the paramount concern". And yes, "gifting, family, community, sharing and love prevail" in this world "devoid of money, profit, and greed", and, as you say, we will have plenty of time for "travel, leisure, philosophy, art, and even extravagance, just for the fun of it." I can't wait!

    But here and now we can see the ongoing acceleration of our "obsession with material gratification", in the world around us. We are now in a post-Orwellian world where everything is back to front and upside down, where deceit is endemic, and doublespeak and doublethink have become the norm - a world where the World Health Organisation (like the "healthcare" and "food" industries in general) is actually tasking itself with killing us, where bankers have become gambling junkies, where "free markets" are completely rigged, and statistics are deliberately fabricated to suit machiavellian agendas. Freedom has already become slavery. The ignorant have become strong (apparently). And the 1% are much more "equal" than the 99%...

    This will not end sweetly. Expect human misery and death on a massive scale, and don't expect to be forewarned about it by the mainstream media! To me this is all simply entropy in action, and it will not be reversed in its details - rather this materialistic global "civilisation" of ours will keep spinning ever more wildly until it dissolves completely into chaos and self-annihilation... yes, the disposable society will imminently dispose of itself. And good riddance. Mother nature needs a break from our relentless abuse.

    Meanwhile, I look forward to your next instalment :)

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    1. Namaste brother Ian, I fear you are right in your assessment. Looking about our world I find it absolutely incomprehensible that everyone is not up in arms at the way we conduct ourselves as a species.

      However crazy it gets ,we can always take solace in the fact that it is little more than a dream.

      Thanks for dropping by brother, all the best. To you and all my blogging friends I have been remiss in keeping up with my writing, thank you all for your endless patience.

      In Lak' ech, prosper with love.... live with joy...

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    2. "it is little more than a dream" - yes indeed, very important to realise and remember this :)

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  5. Hey Chris,
    Great article as always. I remember as a kid, my dad always taking things apart to fix them/get them working again - cars, radios, TVs, washing machines... he could fix anything! Nowadays he can't. He has the knowledge but (as he puts it) "you cant fix anything mass manufactured without first totally destroying it beyond the capacity to repair it!"
    It seems clear that this observation encompasses everything on a global scale including humanity.
    As much as it will hurt, more and more I can only conclude that we need to dismantle, discard the remains and start again from scratch.
    Peace and good health to you and yours my friend!
    Carl (The 'Guide)

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    1. Namaste brother Carl, thank you for your visit and kind words. It is always a pleasure to share with friends.
      for those who may not be aware, stop by Carl's blogsite for some awesome reading and a great book. Congratulations Carl on all your recent success.

      In Lak' ech, prosper with love.... live with knowledge....

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  6. Awesome post once again Christopher, everything so eloquently wrapped up in a nice digestible morsel...! :)

    EACH of us personally have to make changes to the way we do things on the day-to-day level 'cuz it's only going to get harder and crazier as we move along...

    The main root of the problem truly is the given 'Debt-Based' Economy, no matter where you live, every country has theirs, and this very setup is bound to do exactly what it's doing now, and won't stop...

    until WE do...



    little by little

    step by step

    we need to make changes friends

    Love You Bruddah

    Be Well

    Brad

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    1. Namaste brother, thank you for your visit. I am glad you enjoyed this last instalment. Best wishes to you and your family, I hope you are all warm and happy.

      In Lak' ech, prosper with love... live with art...

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  7. Dear Brother Chris

    It has been long since you have shared your wisdom. Here's for you to know you are being missed. Be well, brother ..

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  8. Namaste brother; it has been an awfully busy summer thus far. I look forward to an imminent return with some refreshing changes.

    In Lak' ech, prosper with love.... lvie with joy...

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