Earning Through Obsolescence. An Examination of Falling Household Durables Usage Lifespans in the United States 1970–2018

Earning Through Obsolescence. An Examination of Falling Household Durables Usage Lifespans in the United States 1970–2018
Dillon, Sean. (2025). Working Papers on Capital as Power. No. 2025/1. March. pp. 1-15. (Article - Working Paper; English).

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Alternative Locations

https://capitalaspower.com/2025/03/dillon-earning-through-obsolescence/, https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/312938

Abstract or Brief Description

This study examines the declining usage lifespan of household consumer durables in the United States between 1970 and 2018, situating the phenomenon within a heterodox political economy framework. While mainstream economic narratives attribute the rising rate of consumer durable waste over this time to “overconsumption” driven by consumer materialism, this study challenges that perspective through an empirical analysis of waste generation, consumer spending, depreciation rates, and corporate profitability within the consumer durables sector.

The findings reveal a significant divergence between rising levels of durable goods waste and relatively stable per capita ‘real’ consumer spending, suggesting that falling product longevity is largely not demand-driven. Instead, the data indicates that manufacturers have profitably reduced product durability, as evidenced by increasing rates of geometric depreciation and a rise in total sectoral earnings without proportional increases in earnings margins.

These findings align with the theory of “planned obsolescence,” whereby firms deliberately shorten product lifespans to drive replacement purchases and sustain profit growth. Given that this strategy cannot be adequately explained within conventional neoclassical economic models, the article draws the Veblenian theory of “strategic sabotage” to conceptualize the deliberate underutilization of technological capacity in pursuit of pecuniary gains. The study provides both empirical and theoretical evidence that the decline in consumer durables product longevity observed between 1970 and 2018 is structurally embedded in capitalist production of consumer durables goods.

Language

English

Publication Type

Article - Working Paper

Keywords

capital accumulation obsolescence overconsumption sabotage waste United States

Subject

BN Power
BN Production
BN Region - North America
BN Business Enterprise
BN Capital & Accumulation
BN Crisis
BN Ecology & Environment
BN Growth

Depositing User

Jonathan Nitzan

Date Deposited

07 Mar 2025 22:04

Last Modified

11 Mar 2025 01:00

URL:

https://bnarchives.net/id/eprint/852

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