Made to Break: Part one

The first part of Made to Break was an excellent summary of how we became what we are today, a consumer driven economy, with emphasis on the word "consume".  Actually, we really should be know as a "consume and dispose" economy.  It is unfortunate that Henry Ford's honorable conviction of building a car, "so strong amd so well-made that no one ought ever to have to buy a second one." (46)  could not prevail in the automobile industry at the time.  But the 'design and comfort' elements of an automobile were inevitable competition with the emergence of women as consumers and the growing wealth of society.  I believe the battle between Ford and GM were necessary in order to bring us to what we have today, a balance of decent quality and design. 
It is fascinating how well the advertisers of that time predicted what would sustain our economy, "product addiction", buying for status and pride (51), and "progressive obsolescence" which means, "buying for up-to-dateness, efficiency, and style..." (66).  These marketing strategies relate directly to current products such as cell phones, automolibles, clothing and much more.  However, I don't believe that we have a total lack of concern for quality.  In fact, it has been proven in the current automobile industry that the companies known for quality will be the ones to survive (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc).  I also believe that this will remain true for manufacturers of most products because when people have little or no money to spend, they look for value and quality in what they do buy.  They are not as quick to replace products, nor are they happy when they must.  So the idea of progressive obsolescence is always balanced with the desire for quality.