The Fallacy of Planned Obsolescence

Interventionists look for any excuse or pretext to regulate private enterprise. One recent justification for additional regulation is so-called “planned obsolescence,” but as with other reasons for state action, this justification falls apart under close scrutiny. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Peter Schiff or SchiffGold. In the days and weeks following the demise of the Berlin Wall near the end of 1989, West Germans saw a most curious sight: East German residents, finally able to travel a bit, flooded western streets and roads with Wartburgs and Trabants. Like so many vehicles built in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during the days of communism, they were a throwback to earlier days of the post-war European automobile. The Wartburgs and Trabants were especially items of curiosity. They had three-cylinder, two-stroke engines that produced large amounts of both exhaust smoke and noise, and East Germans that wanted one waited an average of 12-15 years for delivery. As one might expect, the cars were boxy, slow, not very comfortable, and…