Why everything you buy is crap

The biggest contribution to modern society of the so-called market economy much-loved of conservatives is the complete collapse of quality in goods and services. The market economy supposedly dictates that price is determined by what the market will bear; this is supposed to bring prices down through competition. But what really drives this market economy is not production but the sharemarket, and the sharemarket demands ever higher profits, no matter what the prevailing economic conditions. To achieve these higher profits, companies - run by unimaginative, greedy men - have one tool: cut costs. What costs do they look to first? Labour. Sadly for the modern corporate boss, most products and services require people: people to do jobs, perform tasks, make things. Most big companies have now been through so many rounds of cost-cutting (sackings, lay-offs, redundancies, buy-outs, call it what you want, it all boils down to getting rid of people) that they are barely able to function. Buy any product; hire any service; the chances are, it won't be satisfactory. In today's economy, good enough is good enough. There is no room for pride of craftsmanship. Little is produced any more as good as it can possibly be done. Keeping costs down is more important than doing a good job. To replace quality, we have marketing, spin doctors telling us that something is the best of its kind when in truth it is rubbish. How many times have you bought something or engaged a workman - and paid good money - only to find that it's broken or hasn't been properly built? All this is courtesy of today's market economy.