Knowledge@wharton

Canadian writer Giles Slade was checking out a touring exhibit called ”Eternal Egypt” with his 10-year-old son a few years ago when he had an epiphany. The Egyptians he realized designed great monuments to endure for countless generations while here in North America nearly everything produced is made to break. And that’s no accident. Slade’s Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America (Harvard University Press) looks at 20th century technology through the lens of disposability a concept born bred and nurtured in America. Made to Break traces the history of an industrial strategy that has come to define this country -- a strategy that has taught us to buy throw away and buy again and that now must change because we have run out of room to safely dump all our unwanted used-up or obsolete possessions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.