The mainstream Left faults corporate capitalism for planned obsolescence, waste, and general excess — but usually misses the statist root of the problem. Kevin Carson, though, consistently strikes it. His eleventh research study for the Center is now available for download: The Great Domain of Cost-Plus: The Waste Production Economy [PDF]
Cost-Plus: The Waste Production Economy
By Kevin Carson
“Mass production requires running machinery at full speed to minimize unit costs, without regard to preexisting demand. This large batch production model carries with it, in turn, the imperative of controlling the outside society to guarantee demand for the products, so the economy is not glutted with unsold inventory. This is accomplished, in part, by mechanisms of push distribution: high-pressure marketing and planned obsolescence. It is accomplished as well, at the macro level, by the existence of entire sectors of the economy whose primary function is to absorb surplus capital and production capacity.”
This “ready to print” version of Cost-Plus was created by Invisible Molotov.
Invisible Molotov is a market anarchist zine distro & publishing house.
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