2. Programmed obsolescence: from the 1930s to the present day

In the world of 1932, the Great Depression affected the United States and the world. In the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash, economists and politicians were looking for ways to revive the economy. The crisis had impoverished workers, unemployment was at an all-time high and consumer spending, which had become an important part of everyday household life in the 1920s, was now at half-mast. The majority of people are said to have developed an "obsession with saving", leading them to "make prolonged use of their possessions".

Faced with this situation, Bernard London , a real estate agent, thought he had the solution. To revive factories and...