Why (and how) Planned Obsolescence and Capitalism make terrible products. Help me make more videos like this by supporting me on Patreon: http://bit.ly/2iz4lIV

In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at why planned obsolescence happens and how planned obsolescence creates waste and emissions. Specifically, I show how planned obsolescence is a symptom of late-stage capitalism and how companies like Apple use perceived and planned obsolescence to make customers buy more of their products. Apple uses planned obsolescence in their batteries and hardware to the extent that once their warranty is up, their devices generally begin to fail. Apple has been sued numerous times for planned obsolescence by Right to Repair campaigns and governments like France claiming that Apple slows down their iPhones, makes it hard to repair iPhones, and generally making iPhones and Mac computers with shorter lifespans. Planned obsolescence is a symptom of late-stage capitalism that pervades a lot of big corporations because it means more consumption ultimately more profit.