The art of repair is dying because we've killed it. When it was decided that outsourcing manufacturing for the sake of cheaper labor costs, lower environmental restrictions, and different (if any) labor laws will increase profits. Cheaper manufactured products literally flooded the market and created a culture of disposability. That is what weakened the repair ecosystem. It transformed industrial nations into primarily service-oriented economies. Now we've reached the point where our consumer culture is to replace rather than repair, especially when it comes to electronics, appliances, and even clothing (does anybody still darn socks or even still knows how?).
We need to get back to making things, to actually producing merchandise. Then we need to get back to teaching hands-on repair. I just don't think you can teach plumbing, electricians, or even mechanics in colleges and universities. It needs to be hands-on. We need apprenticeships to create true licensed journeymen. (It took me 3 1/2 years from apprentice to journeyman Maschinenschlosser )
A good example of what happens when we do not do this, is shown in Germany. 1/3 of all firms are suffering from a qualified workforce shortage. They even had implemented a plan to grant 200,000 visas for skilled job seekers but still have a shortage. Just this workforce shortage is already constraining economic growth. Healthcare, as well as all construction trades, is suffering from the greatest shortages. The emphasis here is on qualified workers.
What every normal Joe like us should do is to raise awareness of the environmental impact of our disposable culture and encourage the idea of sustainability over a throwaway culture. We need to promote repair cafes and even the iFixit DIY repair tutorials, and we need to continue to push for legislation aimed at making products more repairable. There needs to be a broadcast every day that we need to choose repair over disposal to reduce electronic waste (e-waste) and do something good for the environment for once.
We need to stop the insanity of wasting valuable resources by discarding products that are repairable. Repair will keep our hard-earned money in our pockets instead of further feeding the Profit-before-People (Planet) machinery.
Repair is War on Entropy!
BTW, Nice Stamps. I am more of a book person :-)
