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this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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Asklemmy
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Didn't say it was.
But here specifically I'm refering to optimization, as in changes the manufacturer did to either streamline the production and make it more efficient (cheaper) or to differentiate from similar products to make it more appealing.
Surely you chose your devices on some sort of criterea and other people would come to a different choice.
This I believe can only happen under capitalism.
Oh, yes capitalism has optimised my devices. But I think that's often bad thing. Because many of those optimisations weren't for my benefit. In fact a huge number of them are directly detrimental to me.
The tech was an open platform focused on solving problems of the people working on it. And then capitalism "optimised" it by adding advertising and spyware, locking it down, removing the ability to control or repair it, and artificially obseleting it in order to drive further sales. All at the expense of the user, and the environment.
The optimisations also often removed user choice and product differentiation, rather than added them.
I don't think I can imagine a statement more false than this.
Capitalism increasing the availability of choice, only so long as those choices are profitable. If they are not profitable, those choices are actively removed. I used to be able to find multitudes of devices that were user-maintainable, had replaceable batteries and expandable storage. But those choices are not profitable, and so they get removed.
Technology would look different under a different economic system. Likely in some ways worse, but in other ways better.