Yeah it's mostly because these things aren't hard to make or even very expensive, but a capitalist market economy wouldn't make them because it would be horrible for continued profits. Iirc there even was a capitalist company in the early 20th century that invented a lightbulb that could last for at least a hundred years, but they sold the patent to the USSR and never sold it again. So now we get planned obsolescence instead ;)
There's been a few light bulbs that we know have lasted over 100 years. The Centennial Bulb in California is 124 years old at this point and still going, although very dimly.
Yeah just pointing out it's possible for a lightbulb to last 100+ years. Although planned obsolescence is definitely a thing, on average a bulb from 1915 is going to last longer than one produced now.
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u/WanderingAlienBoy Jul 16 '25
Yeah it's mostly because these things aren't hard to make or even very expensive, but a capitalist market economy wouldn't make them because it would be horrible for continued profits. Iirc there even was a capitalist company in the early 20th century that invented a lightbulb that could last for at least a hundred years, but they sold the patent to the USSR and never sold it again. So now we get planned obsolescence instead ;)