0:00:28.409,0:00:34.588 He is Marcos from Barcelona, but it could be anyone, anywhere else. 0:00:35.799,0:00:41.275 He will run across something that happens every day in offices and homes around the world. 0:01:00.913,0:01:06.151 A piece of the printer has failed and the manufacturer recommends taking it to technical service. 0:01:08.168,0:01:10.713 My technician makes a preliminary diagnosis, 0:01:10.713,0:01:13.104 but it costs 15 euros plus VAT. 0:01:13.104,0:01:16.404 Surely will be difficult find the pieces to be able to repair it. 0:01:16.404,0:01:19.778 Repairing it isn't really worth it. 0:01:19.778,0:01:22.245 Repairing it will cost about 110 or 120 EUR. 0:01:22.245,0:01:24.698 There are printers from 39 EUR. 0:01:24.698,0:01:28.249 I would advise you to look for new printers. 0:01:28.249,0:01:31.184 I would buy a new one, without doubt. 0:01:31.184,0:01:35.965 It isn't coincidence that the three vendors suggest to buy a new printer. 0:01:36.842,0:01:42.457 If he accepts, Marcos will be another victim of planned obsolescence, 0:01:42.457,0:01:45.818 the secret engine of our consumerist society. 0:01:56.178,0:02:00.322 Our society is dominated by a growth economy 0:02:00.322,0:02:04.169 whose logic is not to grow to meet the needs, 0:02:04.169,0:02:06.116 but rather grow to grow. 0:02:27.065,0:02:31.334 In this documentary we will disclose how planned obsolescence 0:02:31.334,0:02:34.188 has defined our lives since the 1920s. 0:02:34.188,0:02:40.307 When manufacturers began to shorten the lifetime of the products to boost sales. 0:02:40.768,0:02:45.343 So they reduced the lifetime of products to 1000 hours. 0:02:47.266,0:02:53.478 We will discover that designers and engineers were forced to choose new values and goals. 0:03:07.355,0:03:10.426 We will learn about a new generation of consumers 0:03:10.426,0:03:13.058 that are going against the manufacturers. 0:03:15.212,0:03:19.068 Is an economy without planned obsolescence feasible? 0:03:19.068,0:03:21.341 and without its impact on the environment? 0:03:38.995,0:03:41.341 Buy, throw away, buy. The secret history of planned obsolescence. 0:04:14.982,0:04:20.120 The Livermore light bulb has been operating without interruption since 1901. 0:04:20.120,0:04:25.223 At the moment two webcams have expired and the light bulb is going for the third. 0:04:33.184,0:04:36.550 In 2001, when the bulb turned one hundred years old 0:04:36.550,0:04:41.005 Livermore organized a big American-style birthday. 0:05:48.903,0:05:54.418 The formula for a long lasting filament is not the only mystery in the history of light bulbs. 0:05:55.049,0:06:00.038 One much greater secret is how and why this humble product became 0:06:00.038,0:06:03.229 the first victim of planned obsolescence. 0:06:05.434,0:06:08.411 Christmas of 1924 day was a special day. 0:06:08.642,0:06:13.738 In Geneva several gentlemen in suits gathered together in a special room 0:06:13.738,0:06:15.466 with a secret plan. 0:06:15.466,0:06:20.341 They created the first worldwide cartel 0:06:20.341,0:06:24.863 to control the production of light bulbs 0:06:24.863,0:06:28.501 and distribute the world market shares among themselves. 0:06:29.963,0:06:32.539 The cartel was called Phoebus. 0:06:33.647,0:06:38.947 Phoebus included major light bulb manufacturers in Europe and the United States 0:06:38.947,0:06:43.547 and even those from distant colonies in Asia and Africa. 0:06:44.208,0:06:49.065 The objective was to exchange patents, to control the production 0:06:49.065,0:06:52.197 and, above all, control the consumer. 0:06:52.197,0:06:59.004 They wanted people to buy light bulbs on a regular basis. 0:06:59.004,0:07:02.994 If light bulbs lasted too much, it would be an economic disadvantage. 0:07:03.000,0:07:08.611 Initially the goal of manufacturers was a long lifetime for their light bulbs. 0:07:25.353,0:07:32.821 In 1881 Edison put up for sale its first light bulb, it lasted up to 1500 hours. 0:07:34.402,0:07:38.199 In 1924, when the Phoebus cartel was founded, 0:07:38.199,0:07:41.774 2500 hours of useful lifetime were announced with pride 0:07:41.774,0:07:46.187 and manufacturers highlighted the longevity of their light bulbs. 0:07:46.187,0:07:51.865 So the Phoebus cartel thought of limiting the lifetime of the light bulbs 0:07:51.865,0:07:54.159 to 1000 hours. 0:07:58.743,0:08:03.837 A committee was created in 1925, the "1000 hour life Committee" 0:08:03.837,0:08:11.375 to technically reduce the light bulbs lifetime. 0:08:14.567,0:08:18.699 More than 80 years after, Helmut Hรถge, a historian from Berlin, 0:08:18.699,0:08:21.180 finds evidence of the Committee activities 0:08:21.180,0:08:24.854 hidden among internal documents of members of the cartel. 0:08:24.854,0:08:27.262 Companies like Phillips in the Netherlands 0:08:27.262,0:08:31.225 Osram in Germany and Lamparas Zeta in Spain. 0:08:31.886,0:08:35.897 Here is a document from the cartel. 0:08:49.480,0:08:53.873 Pressured by the cartel, manufacturers performed experiments 0:08:53.873,0:08:56.311 to create a more fragile light bulb 0:08:56.311,0:08:58.735 that complied with the new 1000 hours standard. 0:09:09.859,0:09:12.977 Manufacturing was strictly controlled 0:09:12.977,0:09:15.720 to make sure that regulations were met. 0:09:17.597,0:09:20.290 One of the measurements was to mount different shelves 0:09:20.290,0:09:24.405 with many lampholders, 0:09:24.405,0:09:30.951 where they mounted different combinations with samples of each series. 0:09:30.951,0:09:34.558 Companies like Osram recorded meticulously 0:09:34.558,0:09:37.222 the duration of these bulbs. 0:09:39.545,0:09:43.840 Phoebus, created a complicated bureaucracy to impose their rules. 0:09:43.840,0:09:49.331 Manufacturers were severely fined if they diverted from the established goals. 0:09:55.223,0:09:59.285 Here is a table of fines of 1929 0:09:59.285,0:10:03.693 showing how much Swiss francs 0:10:03.693,0:10:07.178 the members of the cartel had to pay 0:10:07.178,0:10:11.601 if their bulbs lasted, 0:10:11.601,0:10:13.824 for example, more than 1500 hours. 0:10:20.292,0:10:23.399 As planned obsolescence took effect, 0:10:23.399,0:10:25.666 lifetime started to fall. 0:10:25.666,0:10:30.909 In just 2 years shrank from 2500 to less than 1500 hours. 0:10:34.648,0:10:38.692 In the 1940s the cartel had already achieved its goal. 0:10:38.692,0:10:42.302 A standard light bulb lasted for 1000 hours. 0:11:16.849,0:11:21.198 In the following decades, dozens of new light bulbs were patented. 0:11:21.198,0:11:23.839 Even one that lasted 100.000 hours. 0:11:25.070,0:11:28.133 But none was commercialized. 0:11:29.349,0:11:31.934 Officially, Phoebus never existed, 0:11:31.934,0:11:34.720 even though their trail was never completely hidden. 0:11:35.182,0:11:40.110 Their strategy was to change the name from time to time. 0:11:40.110,0:11:43.671 They were called "International Cartel of Electricity" 0:11:43.671,0:11:46.341 and later on they change it again. 0:11:46.341,0:11:51.056 The important thing is that this idea still exists as an institution. 0:11:56.644,0:12:02.699 In Barcelona, Marcos has ignored the vendors advice to replace the printer. 0:12:02.699,0:12:04.723 He is determined to fix it. 0:12:04.723,0:12:10.179 And he has found someone on the internet who has discovered what happened to his printer. 0:12:26.844,0:12:29.237 Marcos has contacted the author of the video. 0:13:12.963,0:13:16.561 Planned obsolescence started at the same time 0:13:16.561,0:13:19.270 as mass production and the consumerist society. 0:13:42.885,0:13:47.602 Already in 1928 an influential advertisement magazine warned: 0:13:48.278,0:13:52.350 ".. an article which refuses to wear out is a tragedy of business." 0:13:54.535,0:13:57.962 In fact, with mass production, prices fell down 0:13:57.962,0:13:59.639 and products became more affordable. 0:13:59.639,0:14:03.024 People started buying for fun rather than by need. 0:14:03.402,0:14:05.025 The economy accelerated. 0:14:26.563,0:14:28.073 In 1929, 0:14:28.073,0:14:31.916 the Wall Street Crash abruptly stopped the incipient consumerist society 0:14:31.916,0:14:36.468 and led the United States to a deep economic recession. 0:14:45.332,0:14:50.522 The people formed lines no longer to buy, but instead to ask for work and food. 0:14:54.061,0:14:58.329 From New York came a radical proposal to revive the economy. 0:15:01.283,0:15:03.985 Bernald London, a prominent real estate investor, 0:15:04.278,0:15:08.897 suggested getting out of the depression through mandatory planned obsolescence. 0:15:09.897,0:15:13.151 It was the first time that the concept appeared in writings. 0:15:14.336,0:15:17.952 London proposed that all products had a limited lifetime 0:15:17.952,0:15:22.883 with an expiration date, after which these would be considered legally dead. 0:15:23.538,0:15:27.149 The consumers would return it to a Government Agency 0:15:27.149,0:15:28.703 for its destruction. 0:15:44.052,0:15:48.228 Bernald London believed that with mandatory planned obsolescence 0:15:48.228,0:15:52.120 factories would keep producing, the people would keep consuming 0:15:52.120,0:15:54.555 and there would be work for everybody. 0:16:00.385,0:16:04.910 Giles Slade is already in New York to know more about the person that is behind this idea. 0:16:05.264,0:16:07.684 He wonders if with planned obsolescence, 0:16:07.684,0:16:13.247 Bernald London aimed to maximize benefits or, to help the unemployed. 0:16:16.770,0:16:22.511 Dorothea Weitzner met Bernald London in the 1930s during a family outing. 0:17:23.692,0:17:27.478 In fact the idea of Bernald London passed unnoticed 0:17:27.478,0:17:31.002 and mandatory planned obsolescence was never put into practice. 0:17:36.448,0:17:41.876 Twenty years later, in the 1950s, planned obsolescence resurfaced, 0:17:41.876,0:17:47.492 but with a crucial twist, it wasn't to force the consumer but to seduce him. 0:18:02.138,0:18:06.536 This is Brooks Stevens' voice, the apostle of planned obsolescence 0:18:06.536,0:18:08.367 in the post-war america. 0:18:09.044,0:18:12.730 This elegant industrial designer, created from electrical appliances 0:18:12.730,0:18:17.344 to cars and trains, always taking in mind planned obsolescence. 0:18:20.852,0:18:25.826 In tune with the time, the designs of Brooks Stevens expressed speed and modernity. 0:18:25.826,0:18:28.450 Even his house was unusual. 0:19:31.768,0:19:35.332 Brooks Stevens traveled throughout the United States 0:19:35.332,0:19:38.720 promoting the planned obsolescence in talks and speeches. 0:19:38.720,0:19:41.508 His ideas settled and were widespread. 0:20:02.759,0:20:05.719 Design and marketing seduced the consumer 0:20:05.719,0:20:07.909 to always want the latest model. 0:20:37.595,0:20:44.174 Freedom and happiness through unlimited consumption, the American way of life of the 1950s 0:20:44.174,0:20:46.743 settled the foundations of the current consumerist society. 0:21:29.999,0:21:35.243 Nowadays, planned obsolescence is taught in design and engineering schools. 0:21:36.271,0:21:39.015 Boris Knuf gives lectures about product life cycle. 0:21:39.445,0:21:42.680 The modern euphemism of planned obsolescence. 0:21:54.761,0:22:00.190 Students are taught to design for a business world dominated by a single goal: 0:22:00.190,0:22:02.686 frequent and repeated purchases. 0:22:37.449,0:22:42.596 Planned obsolescence is in the root of the considerable economic growth 0:22:42.596,0:22:46.286 that the Western World has lived since the 1950s. 0:22:48.440,0:22:53.696 Since then, growth has been the Holy Grail of our economy. 0:22:56.189,0:22:58.858 We live in a society of growth 0:22:58.858,0:23:02.727 whose logic is not to grow to satisfy the needs 0:23:02.727,0:23:04.689 but grow to grow. 0:23:04.689,0:23:08.696 Infinitely grow, with a production without limits 0:23:08.696,0:23:13.858 and to justify it, consumption should grow without limits. 0:23:15.583,0:23:19.931 Serge Latouche, a well-known critic of the Society of Growth, 0:23:19.931,0:23:22.557 writes often about its mechanisms. 0:23:24.111,0:23:27.201 There are three key instruments: 0:23:27.201,0:23:31.793 advertising, planned obsolescence and the credit. 0:23:50.238,0:23:55.141 The critics of the Society of Growth alerts that it is unsustainable in the long term, 0:23:55.757,0:23:58.492 because it is based on a flagrant contradiction. 0:23:59.585,0:24:02.685 Anyone who believes that unlimited growth 0:24:02.685,0:24:05.200 is compatible with a limited planet 0:24:05.200,0:24:06.562 is either crazy 0:24:06.562,0:24:08.062 or is an economist. 0:24:08.062,0:24:11.946 The problem is that we are all economists. 0:24:31.418,0:24:34.918 We could say that with the Society of Growth 0:24:34.918,0:24:37.618 we are inside a race car 0:24:37.618,0:24:40.995 that, right now, clearly nobody is driving, 0:24:42.180,0:24:43.957 going full speed 0:24:43.957,0:24:45.564 and whose fate 0:24:45.564,0:24:49.526 is either hitting a wall 0:24:49.526,0:24:51.207 or falling into a precipice. 0:25:08.022,0:25:10.917 Consulting instruction manuals, 0:25:10.917,0:25:13.627 Marcos realizes that engineers 0:25:13.627,0:25:17.869 determine the lifetime of many printers, during the design phase. 0:25:25.945,0:25:30.670 They achieve it by putting a chip inside the printer. 0:25:42.292,0:25:44.192 I found the chip. 0:25:44.192,0:25:47.077 It is an EEPROM chip where 0:25:47.077,0:25:48.392 a count of prints is stored. 0:25:49.354,0:25:51.546 When it reaches a determined number, 0:25:51.546,0:25:53.708 the printer hangs and stops printing. 0:26:02.934,0:26:06.888 What do engineers think when they have to design a product that fails? 0:26:06.888,0:26:12.037 The dilemma is reflected in a classic British film of 1951 0:26:12.037,0:26:15.772 where a young chemist invents a everlasting thread. 0:26:16.388,0:26:19.258 The chemist believes that he made a great progress. 0:26:27.608,0:26:29.916 But not everyone likes the invention, 0:26:30.947,0:26:34.769 and soon he finds himself chased not only by the owners of the factory 0:26:34.769,0:26:37.970 but also by the workers who fear for their jobs. 0:26:47.318,0:26:53.201 In 1940 the giant chemist Dupont presented a revolutionary synthetic fiber: 0:26:53.201,0:26:54.368 the nylon. 0:26:58.984,0:27:03.618 For women the durable socks were a major step forward 0:27:03.618,0:27:05.352 but the joy lasted a little. 0:27:38.582,0:27:42.911 Dupont's chemists had reasons to be proud 0:27:42.911,0:27:46.617 even the men admired the resistance of nylon stockings. 0:28:02.564,0:28:05.876 Dupont gave new instructions to Nicole Fox's father of and his colleagues. 0:28:25.900,0:28:30.362 The same chemists that applied all their knowledge to create a durable nylon 0:28:30.362,0:28:34.354 embraced the new trend and made it more fragile. 0:28:34.354,0:28:38.053 That everlasting thread disappeared from factories, 0:28:38.053,0:28:39.720 like in the film. 0:28:50.695,0:28:55.818 What was the opinion of Dupont's chemists about deliberately reducing the lifetime of a product? 0:29:56.834,0:30:00.692 Planned obsolescence affected not only engineers. 0:30:00.692,0:30:05.230 The frustration of consumers echoed in the classic play of Arthur Millers: 0:30:05.230,0:30:07.103 Death of a salesman. 0:30:07.118,0:30:10.767 Like Willy Loman, the consumers could only complain. 0:30:31.685,0:30:36.184 Consumers didn't know that in the other side of the Iron Curtain, 0:30:36.184,0:30:37.757 in the countries of the Eastern block 0:30:37.757,0:30:41.805 there was an entire economy without planned obsolescence. 0:30:48.466,0:30:54.359 The Communist economy was not based on the free market, but it was planned by the State. 0:30:54.359,0:30:59.091 It was inefficient and suffered from a chronic lack of resources. 0:30:59.091,0:31:04.192 In that system, planned obsolescence did not have any sense. 0:31:08.253,0:31:13.056 In the old East Germany, the most efficient communist economy, 0:31:13.056,0:31:20.031 the norms stipulated that fridges and washing machines should last for 25 years. 0:31:23.047,0:31:28.114 I bought this fridge in East Germany in 1985, 0:31:28.114,0:31:31.538 it is at least 24 years old. 0:31:32.722,0:31:36.557 I never had to change the light bulb 0:31:36.557,0:31:38.888 which is also nearly 25 years old. 0:31:42.103,0:31:49.354 In 1981 an East Berlin's factory began to produce a long lasting light bulb. 0:31:49.354,0:31:54.213 They presented it in an international fair, in search of western buyers. 0:31:55.244,0:31:58.242 When the East Germany manufacturers 0:31:58.242,0:32:01.164 presented these long lasting light bulbs 0:32:01.164,0:32:03.145 at Hanover fair in 1981, 0:32:03.837,0:32:07.379 their colleagues in the West said: "You will be without jobs." 0:32:07.379,0:32:10.309 The engineers of East Germany said: 0:32:10.309,0:32:12.907 "No, the opposite, 0:32:12.907,0:32:16.315 we will keep our jobs 0:32:16.315,0:32:19.907 if we save resources and do not waste tungsten." 0:32:23.138,0:32:26.466 The people of the West rejected the light bulb. 0:32:27.374,0:32:30.522 In 1989 Berlin Wall fell, 0:32:31.291,0:32:36.711 the factory closed and the production of the long lasting light bulb stopped. 0:32:38.249,0:32:42.404 Nowadays, it can only be seen in exhibitions and museums. 0:32:52.173,0:32:57.206 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, unrestrained consumerism 0:32:57.206,0:33:00.202 exists both in the East and in the West. 0:33:06.726,0:33:10.066 With a difference, in the internet age, 0:33:10.066,0:33:14.454 the consumers are willing to fight against planned obsolescence. 0:34:41.493,0:34:46.400 Elizabeth Pritzker, a San Francisco lawyer, heard about the video 0:34:46.400,0:34:49.952 and decided to sue Apple on the matter of the iPod battery. 0:34:50.353,0:34:54.485 Half a century after the case of the cartel, planned obsolescence 0:34:54.485,0:34:56.807 came back to courts again. 0:35:10.032,0:35:13.300 A lot of these iPods had problems with their batteries 0:35:13.300,0:35:16.846 and their owners were willing to go to court. 0:35:17.738,0:35:20.957 One of them was Andrew Westley. 0:36:16.918,0:36:20.966 In December 2003 Elizabeth Pritzker presented the lawsuit 0:36:20.966,0:36:23.335 to San Mateo County's Court. 0:36:23.335,0:36:26.344 A stone's throw away from Apple's headquarters. 0:37:06.748,0:37:11.135 After months of tension, the two parts reached an agreement. 0:37:11.135,0:37:16.407 Apple created a replacement service and extended the warranty to 2 years. 0:37:16.407,0:37:19.958 The prosecutors received a compensation. 0:37:54.086,0:37:58.690 Planned obsolescence causes a constant flow of waste 0:37:58.690,0:38:02.521 that end in Third World countries, like Ghana in Africa. 0:38:22.722,0:38:26.159 An international treatment prohibits shipping electronic waste 0:38:26.159,0:38:27.878 to the Third World countries. 0:38:27.878,0:38:30.873 But buyers use a simple trick: 0:38:30.873,0:38:34.007 they declare them as second-hand products. 0:38:39.974,0:38:43.411 More than 80% of the electronic waste that arrives in Ghana 0:38:43.411,0:38:47.911 can not be repaired and end up abandoned in landfills around the country. 0:39:25.488,0:39:29.851 Nowadays, here there are no children playing after school. 0:39:29.851,0:39:34.681 Instead, young people from poor families, come to look for scrap. 0:39:36.213,0:39:40.951 They burn the plastic cable cover to obtain the metal inside. 0:39:47.345,0:39:52.072 The smallest kids scavenge in the wreckage to find 0:39:52.072,0:39:55.719 any piece of metal that the adults might have forgotten. 0:41:28.806,0:41:34.183 People from all over the world has begun to act against planned obsolescence. 0:41:35.814,0:41:39.628 Mike Anane is fighting at the end of the chain, 0:41:39.628,0:41:42.478 he has begun collecting information. 0:42:20.210,0:42:24.070 Mike thinks about turning this information into evidence 0:42:24.070,0:42:26.119 for a lawsuit at court. 0:42:49.798,0:42:55.463 Marcos is in internet again, looking into how to lengthen the lifetime of his printer. 0:42:57.711,0:43:02.105 A russian website seems to offer a free software 0:43:02.105,0:43:04.724 for printers with a counter chip. 0:43:06.038,0:43:10.882 The developer has bothered to explain his personal motivation. 0:43:28.599,0:43:34.335 Marcos does not know what can happen, but decides to download the software anyway. 0:43:36.726,0:43:41.280 From a small village in France, John Thackara fights against planned obsolescence 0:43:41.280,0:43:45.804 helping people around the world to share business and design ideas. 0:44:28.623,0:44:34.195 One of them is Warlden Phillips, descendant of the dynasty of light bulbs manufacturers. 0:44:53.826,0:44:56.811 Nearly a century after the light bulb cartel, 0:44:56.811,0:45:02.152 Warner Philips continues the family tradition, but with a different perspective, 0:45:02.152,0:45:05.588 produces a led light bulb that lasts 25 years. 0:45:35.938,0:45:39.911 If the carriers paid the real cost of transport, 0:45:39.911,0:45:44.182 not to mention that the oil is a non-renewable resource 0:45:44.182,0:45:47.083 and for which there is no substitute, 0:45:47.083,0:45:50.833 I would say that the costs would be multiplied by 20 or 30. 0:46:06.007,0:46:09.538 Also we can fight against planned obsolescence 0:46:09.538,0:46:13.448 rethinking the engineering and the production of the products. 0:46:13.878,0:46:17.711 A new concept: "Cradle to cradle". 0:46:17.711,0:46:21.077 Asserts that if the factories worked as the nature 0:46:21.077,0:46:24.082 obsolescence itself would be obsolete. 0:46:25.133,0:46:28.989 When we talk about protecting the environment, 0:46:28.989,0:46:32.637 we always think about: cut, resign, reduce. 0:46:33.313,0:46:36.960 But in spring, a cherry tree 0:46:36.960,0:46:39.462 neither cut nor resigns. 0:46:43.818,0:46:46.827 The natural cycle produces in abundance, 0:46:46.827,0:46:51.797 but the fallen flowers and dry leaves are not waste, 0:46:51.797,0:46:54.327 but nutrients for other organisms. 0:46:56.324,0:47:00.364 Nature don't produce waste, only nutrients. 0:47:03.012,0:47:08.128 Braungart believes that industry can imitate the virtuous cycle of nature. 0:47:08.482,0:47:14.552 And he proved it by re-designing the production process of a Swiss textile manufacturer. 0:47:17.333,0:47:21.425 When you upholster a sofa with a textile like this 0:47:21.425,0:47:25.070 the clippings are so toxic 0:47:25.070,0:47:29.204 that should be removed alongside the toxic waste. 0:47:31.876,0:47:38.561 Braungart discovered that the factory used by inertia hundreds of 0:47:38.561,0:47:39.838 highly toxic dyes and chemical products. 0:47:40.893,0:47:45.969 To produce the new textiles, Braungart and his team reduced the list 0:47:45.969,0:47:48.049 to only 36 substances. 0:47:48.049,0:47:49.661 All of them biodegradable. 0:47:51.170,0:47:55.001 We select ingredients that you could eat. 0:47:55.001,0:47:58.112 If you'd like, you could add them to your muesli. 0:47:59.282,0:48:01.126 In a society of wastefulness, 0:48:01.126,0:48:03.325 a short-life product creates a problem of waste. 0:48:03.325,0:48:06.612 If a society produces nutrients, 0:48:06.612,0:48:10.047 short-life products could turn into something new. 0:48:11.404,0:48:14.831 For the more radical critics of planned obsolescence, 0:48:14.831,0:48:17.965 it is not enough to reform processes, 0:48:17.965,0:48:21.612 they want to rethink our economy and our values. 0:48:22.426,0:48:26.092 It is a true revolution, a cultural revolution, 0:48:26.092,0:48:29.555 because it is a change of paradigm and mentality. 0:48:30.318,0:48:33.894 This revolution is called: Degrowth. 0:48:33.894,0:48:37.066 Serge Latouche travels from talk to talk explaining 0:48:37.066,0:48:41.094 how to abandon the Society of Growth once and for all. 0:48:42.340,0:48:45.969 The Degrowth is a provocative slogan 0:48:45.969,0:48:51.635 that tries to break up with the euphoric speech 0:48:51.635,0:48:55.885 about viable, infinite and sustainable growth. 0:48:55.885,0:49:00.832 It attempts to demonstrate the need for a change of logic. 0:49:03.278,0:49:05.590 The essence of Degrowth 0:49:05.590,0:49:08.934 can be summarized in one word: reduce. 0:49:08.934,0:49:12.714 Reducing our ecological footprint, 0:49:12.714,0:49:15.737 the over-production and the over-consumption. 0:49:16.759,0:49:20.195 To reduce the consumption and production, 0:49:20.195,0:49:22.151 we can release time 0:49:22.151,0:49:25.536 to develop other types of wealth 0:49:25.536,0:49:30.250 that have the advantage of not exhausting themselves with use, 0:49:30.250,0:49:32.478 like friendship or knowledge. 0:49:58.021,0:50:03.199 If happiness depends on the level of consumption, 0:50:03.199,0:50:06.681 we should be absolutely happy, 0:50:06.681,0:50:11.650 because we consume 26 times more than in Marx's time. 0:50:11.650,0:50:13.485 But polls show 0:50:13.485,0:50:16.110 that people are not 20 times happier, 0:50:16.110,0:50:18.733 because happiness is always subjective. 0:50:23.353,0:50:27.835 The Degrowth's critics fear that it will destroy the economy 0:50:27.835,0:50:30.760 and take us back to the Stone Age. 0:50:33.161,0:50:36.009 Returning to a sustainable society, 0:50:36.009,0:50:40.398 whose ecological footprint is not bigger than a planet, 0:50:40.398,0:50:43.856 does not mean going back to the Stone Age, but back to the 1960s, 0:50:43.856,0:50:47.108 considering the parameters of a country as France, 0:50:47.108,0:50:49.731 which, is not the Stone Age. 0:50:52.608,0:50:57.603 The society of Degrowth makes Gandhi's vision a reality: 0:50:57.603,0:51:00.644 "The World is big enough 0:51:00.644,0:51:02.851 for everyone's needs 0:51:02.851,0:51:05.150 but it is too small 0:51:05.150,0:51:06.891 for the greed of one man." 0:51:33.293,0:51:38.023 Marcos is installing the Russian freeware on his computer. 0:51:42.032,0:51:47.409 With the new program he can put the printer chip counter to zero. 0:51:50.661,0:51:53.842 The printer is unlocked immediately. 0:52:07.217,0:52:09.215 The end?