In discursive practice there is much semantic slippage between the diferent forms of obsolescence, and it is often unclear exactly what form is at issue in a given discussion. There are also liminal cases that fall between the different kinds of obsolescence. For example, cases in which a product retains its functionality yet comes to be thought of as obsolescent because newer versions appear that are technically superior fall between style and technical obsolescence. While the “obsolete” product is still entirely functional, at the same time because it is technically inferior to newer versions, it becomes regarded as obsolete by comparison.
- What Is Puzzling about the Concern over Planned Obsolescence?
Before pressing forward with a finer-grained analysis of the mid-century controversy around planned obsolescence, some consideration ought to be given to a possible objection to the notion that there is much of interest in the topic. Surely, the objection goes, the concern about planned obsolescence simply reflects an entirely understandable preoccupation on the part of consumers with getting value for money, in combination with a sensibly suspicious stance toward big business and its underlying motives. If this commonsense intuition is correct, what then is so puzzling about the mid-century worries about planned obsolescence?
There are at least two reasons for thinking that the preoccupation with planned obsolescence was not just a straightforward matter of rational consumers practicing due diligence by interrogating the design of industrial products. First, the degree of concern over planned material obsolescence is surprisingly high, given that the evidence for widespread implementation of the practice was slim to nonexistent. As we shall see later in the chapter, in the early 1970s the Federal Trade Commission investigated material obsolescence and found no evidence that the practice was at all common. Moreover, it is unclear what criterion should be used to determine whether egregious material obsolescence is present in a given product. If material obsolescence means that an object breaks before its time, what then determines its time? What is it that establishes a reasonable duration of use for a consumer durable? In the discussions about planned material obsolescence (so-called death dates), the answer to that question remains obscure.
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Time for Things