Trey Smith
Another aspect of Huxley's World State can be summed up by a catchy little phrase drummed into people as they developed in their test tubes: Ending is better than mending. Members of all the varying castes are programmed to be all-out consumers in order to keep the economy humming along. So, instead of fixing or mending consumer items, the people are expected to buy, buy, buy.
Such a system would prove very profitable for the producers of consumer goods, but it would drive the people and companies who service our vehicles, appliances and what nots right out of business! In addition, I don't know how in the world a futuristic system like this could be sustainable. After a while, you would run out of the needed resources to make things.
But, as with most themes in this book, we already come very close to being a throwaway society! Our landfills are full of serviceable equipment, wearable clothing and enough good food, I would think, to feed the hungry several times over.
I am often flabbergasted at the stuff people throw (or give) away. My house is filled with furniture, clothing, electronics and housewares that Della and I have purchased from thrift stores or at garage sales. I'm not talking about trashy items either. Most of the items we buy are in good shape and last us for years upon years.
When I worked for a peace and environmental organization in Oregon, one of the annual "events" for our staff was to descend on the town of Corvallis around the middle of May. Why did we go there? To go dumpster diving at Oregon State University! As the college year came to a close and students headed back to their home towns, it would amaze you the kind of stuff they threw out.
Not only did we collect truckloads of useful items each year for the offices of our organization, many of us ended up with new clothing, appliances and/or furniture for ourselves. One year we scored big time by returning to Salem with 3 working computers, including one laptop!
The more I think of it, the more I realize that far too many people have already adopted the mantra, Ending is better than mending.
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