The Light Bulb Conspiracy (2010)

Published On: March 10, 2014
56 words
Views: 1331

This is the story of companies who engineered their products to fail. This film criticizes the way manufacturers deliberately make short lasting products that continually have to be re-bought, increasing their profit.

Published 2010 (IMDB Rating 8.1)

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About the Author: Chris Machens

Chris Machens
Chris covers the climate since 2011, and when not posting articles to the site he usually works on our next video production.
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    Marcin Gramza
    Marcin Gramza
    10 years ago

    *Planned obsolescence*
    Interesting movie about one of the pillars of our economy. Critical about
    the concept of planned obsolescence, but is there an alternative for it
    without radical change of our mentality and culture? I don’t know.

    sixtyfiveford
    sixtyfiveford
    10 years ago

    Great Video.

    Michael Olsen
    Michael Olsen
    10 years ago

    This is a story everyone needs to hear, think about and discuss with their families and neighbors.

    bababooey7576
    bababooey7576
    10 years ago

    designed to fail….and we have repairmen driving around using fossil fuels, constant re upping of goods on shelves that are disposable. factories making parts. u sing materials, causing pollution. plastic plastic plastic.. etc etc y up..environmentally friendly indeed…

    Jon Courtney
    Jon Courtney
    10 years ago

    it absolutely is unsustainable.. we have a finite amount of resources and they are being used incorrectly.. we have plastics that last for 20,000 years and they go into making a bottle of water that is used and discarded… put that in a house! use it on cars.. so stupid that they waste so much of our resources and we have no alternative.. you either buy something new or fix what you have.. but there are nothing but monopolies so you have no choices in getting a good product

    Abdou
    Abdou
    11 years ago

    39:04 – those CRTs last for ever, but we been brain washed to buy flat
    panels, that are designed to fail promptly.

    Vente Interdite
    Vente Interdite
    10 years ago

    The World is big enough to satisfy everyone’s needs, but will always be too
    small to satisfy individual greed. Mahatma Ghandi.

    TheoO18
    TheoO18
    10 years ago

    This is completely true! My printer also blocked itself (because of that
    chip) but then I found a hack on it online and made it work again ;)) .

    Bryan Lightningrod
    Bryan Lightningrod
    11 years ago

    dude inkjet printers are just basically stupid anyways, there shouldn’t be
    any reason to print anything out really, if so send it to a print shop who
    uses things besides inkjet printers and can print out quality. Also, people
    would sue the print company if the printer did get ink all over the place
    or just basically think it was a crappy printer. Talk about the complete
    waste of money the injet cartridges are, they cost more than the entire
    printer a lot of times. Also things like computers should be obsoleted
    because would you like to be working on a mac or pc from the 80’s? I doubt
    it. A lightbulb from 1900 sux compared to a led bulb today. The things
    that should be got rid of are cars and airplanes because the fuel they use
    and the death they cause.

    Matt Heilman
    Matt Heilman
    11 years ago

    I judge a Company/ Product, by how well it performs its function and how
    long it can preform that function.
    As for planned “Planned Obsolescence”: I see it more as failure due to low
    cost production.

    BankaiIchigo12345
    BankaiIchigo12345
    11 years ago

    Can’t understand half of it because it’s in some foreign language.

    Steve Chering
    Steve Chering
    10 years ago

    And all the LED bulbs in UK are priced at an almost out of reach sum..for those wanting to cut back on power consumption..and most of the bulbs in IKEA are of screw in fitting and UK are all bayonet types.. so you have to then change all the fittings in the house.so in effect..you have to spend more cash to save…..LESS! outrageous for a so called Green economy? The massive swindle continues.!

    Reptilian
    Reptilian
    11 years ago

    I wonder why didn’t competition rule out the need for planned obsolesce? I
    mean, didn’t companies back then always claim their stuff lasted the
    longest and worked better than the competitor’s products? Why would a
    crisis arise from that problem? Now I realize that companies even if they
    don’t really have to. I mean, what kind of dumb company would invest time
    and money spending on materials to built a lasting product when they can
    hire chinese child laborers and use the cheapest crap available and just
    say that new products that they make are simply better, even though they’re
    the same shit.

    TheOneTrueKaliban
    TheOneTrueKaliban
    11 years ago

    So Londons’ idea was to fix an economic problem that was created by
    government tinkering by having the government tinker with it. :-/

    No WONDER he whispered about it.

    jeanious2009
    jeanious2009
    11 years ago

    its all because of GREED, without it there would be no need for a 1000hr
    light bulb…but for a LIFE LONG bulb. This goes for other electronics and
    items.

    Robert Fisher
    Robert Fisher
    11 years ago

    41 dayz. vs the one from 1901 = over 100 years. lol FUCK YOU

    Paul thecat
    Paul thecat
    11 years ago

    A nice bit of propaganda mostly, this is on a par with ‘Ralph Nader unsafe
    at any speed’ Who are this so called ‘cartel’ surely another business man
    would come in and offer a better product if they could. Most of this has to
    do with politicians and bureaucrats defining standards, rather than
    allowing the market to operate. All these so called environmental energy
    bulbs have arisen from government mandates not the market. For instance
    look at low level regulated markets such as the mobile phone- original cost
    in 1950’s $5000 size of a brick with no battery life, today you can run
    your life off one for a fraction of the cost, similarly a Bluetooth dongle
    original costs $300 in the 1990s today less than $4 ( and that’s not
    including inflation !!!!). Heavily regulated markets such as cars always
    increase in value, since bureaucrats and politicians interfere determining
    how much safety should be in there and how things should be tested. It is
    politicians and bureaucrats messing up the market, with which standards
    things should be held to.

    Stephen Dickens
    Stephen Dickens
    11 years ago

    I think the real truth that some may have overlooked goes like this. Things
    are made to break, thats what keeps the money flowing, sad but true, and no
    I dont agree with that plan,,but that is how its all made and planned. For
    example any electronic device could be made to last way longer. Usually
    when lets say for example your TV croaks. Its one component that has gone
    bad or failed in it. But a circuit board can be made with several back ups.
    Meaning if one transistor failed, there could be three others wired into
    the board, with a microchip that would just switch it all over to use the
    second transistor if the first failed. And any number of backups could be
    added. But its not made that way, its made so when that one component fails
    in your TV or other device, you simply throw it away and buy another, and
    of course litter the world more. And it is rumored that if not already so,
    some day a program may be placed in a microchip to force your electronic
    device to fail after a certain time, like a timer. And you would either
    throw it away, or have the repair man reset the circuit to restart the
    timer all over again.

    Nayr747
    Nayr747
    11 years ago

    Marcos’ should have just bought a laser printer. Inkjets suck down one of
    the most expensive liquids in the world even if it’s just sitting there not
    printing anything. Laser toner cartridges can last years and it’s a
    fraction of the price per page.

    Alex D
    Alex D
    11 years ago

    Start looking to Wall-E if you want to know what the future will be like.

    FernestHall
    FernestHall
    11 years ago

    I think your tinfoil hat is some seizes to small. Don’t wear those which
    squeeze your brain.

    shesnailie .
    shesnailie .
    11 years ago

    Of course, now that everything is churned out by the People’s Lead & Puppy
    Grindery, Western Civilization no longer really benefits so much from
    planned obsolescence…

    Mike Roberts
    Mike Roberts
    11 years ago

    Funkyw4, The oldest light bulb has been burning since 1901, the light bulb
    industry will be fine. The point of this documentary is to provide some
    evidence and facts that our system is completely and utterly FLAWED and
    cannot continue on the path that it is on currently.

    Nico Ene
    Nico Ene
    11 years ago

    My stove and fridge are more than 20 years old and they work perfectly.I
    have new models as well, but they always break.

    Nico Ene
    Nico Ene
    11 years ago

    My stove and fridge are more than 20 years old and they work perfectly.I
    have new models as well, but they always break.

    BeatrixNuada
    BeatrixNuada
    11 years ago

    I am a future economist and I wish we all could have longer lasting and
    fully recyclable products. I see why it is no wonder people do not import
    cheap efficient green energy solutions. Because it requires massive
    reconstruction, it is a game changer for which big companies are not
    willing to risk with. It makes all markets less dynamically inert. But it
    gives population stability and reliability to counter for a great
    depression and starvation. Even capitalists don’t have real interests in
    this

    fleamarketmutt
    fleamarketmutt
    11 years ago

    They recited “the pledge of alliance” to a American conspiracy against
    consumers

    eric5335
    eric5335
    11 years ago

    What, really?!

    jeanious2009
    jeanious2009
    11 years ago

    It was designed to FAIL.=-= STILL GOING ON TODAY. with everything.

    Steve Chering
    Steve Chering
    10 years ago

    Fascinating documentary a wake up call to all!

    Thomas n
    Thomas n
    10 years ago

    who is the person who talks during the documentary

    jules2c
    jules2c
    10 years ago

    Yes and no, this is an over simplification, the long lasting incandescent light had an even more horrendous power wastage than the 1000 hour bulb.

    robert karas
    robert karas
    10 years ago

    Didnt everyone already figure this out? like are you kidding? isnt it obvious that a car breaks so fast? god society must be fucking stupid, let them consume products and kill this world if they cant realize stuff like this

    mjdan10
    mjdan10
    10 years ago

    An interesting video that shows the evils of crony capitalism and the regulations that are designed to stifle innovation and competition. This video suggest that this is a symptom of the failure of capitalism, when in fact these are the symptoms of corruption due to lazy, self-interested, envious entities that fear competition. The worst part of this video is the suggestion that Marxism and communism are the answers. Freedom is the answer! Read Ayn Rand for a real alternative to crony capitalism and to see a paradigm that promotes individual happiness that translate to shared
    wealth that is not compulsory.

    jkjerome1
    jkjerome1
    10 years ago

    this explains so much about our experience of modern life – why we have to keep making money to replace all these things that keep breaking.

    Jon Courtney
    Jon Courtney
    10 years ago

    It’s time for people to stop supporting corporations that use planned
    obsolescence to force you to buy things over and over again when they could
    last for much longer. Light bulbs are just a tiny drop in the pool of
    corrupt corporations that buy politicians so they can continue to make
    garbage and get bailed out when people stop buying their garbage that is
    planned to fail after a certain amount of time. It’s wasteful, and it makes
    people poorer. Computer manufactures especially Apple is guilty of this.
    With their continuous update and upgrade bs. They could make a phone that
    could have one standard architecture and just change cpu / gpu. We all
    should demand more from our fellow humans.

    robert yeahright
    robert yeahright
    10 years ago

    greed and deception is whats destroying this world and you can thank the
    elite for this, and it’s those same elite assholes that will profit from
    the cleanup of all this.
    You can tell who they are, because they use the word sustainability a lot.
    sustainability is key phrase for Agenda 21, and you should know that the
    same assholes that created agenda 21 also say that this planet cannot
    sustain more than 1.5 billion people and they plan on being part of that
    1.5 billion.

    PICing4fun
    PICing4fun
    10 years ago

    I enjoyed this video though there were a few issues that were not really
    dealt with. Sometimes there is a good reason for replacing that old piece
    of technology and in many cases it’s all about being productive. An old
    computer that processes information 10X slower than the current model
    becomes a waste of time to keep. Unless one feels that his time has no
    value. A 1980s car that may run perfectly fine but consumes 3X the fuel of
    a modern car not only is killing our planet with pollutants but is
    consuming a limited supply of fossil fuel three times faster than a modern
    replacement. Though I agree with the ideas in this video and I am not a big
    fan of consumerism, I do see the need to update certain items in our
    society with the goal of efficiency on as many levels as possible. Now
    trying to decide exactly when to upgrade my car, computer, and gadgets is
    the tricky part.

    Johhny Stoka
    Johhny Stoka
    10 years ago

    Osram was owned by Leopold Koppel a jew

    LINEHACKER
    LINEHACKER
    10 years ago

    DUH!

    Man Fung Wong
    Man Fung Wong
    10 years ago

    Just found out my hp laptop default cooling kicks in when 60C is reach, no
    wonder my laptop overheats! Download a modded BIOS, simply adjust the
    temperature to 50C solved my overheat issue.

    Buzz Werd
    Buzz Werd
    11 years ago

    How many people use electric every day? How many companies and signs and
    headlights? How much light and images?
    If everything uses many times the electricity needed, where does the
    electricity come from?
    Most of it comes from burning carbon. And the number of users and uses is
    billions even as the rate of use outstrips the ability to find and get more
    carbon since over 40 years ago and we have a very real problem with burning
    too much carbon.

    Sometimes you have to make a choice for efficiency when the alternative is
    lights OUT decades sooner if you don’t. We can’t go back by simply wishing
    or voting so.

    Read Consumer Reports before you buy an item or at least see what things
    you can buy refurbished since those items are repairable! The originals
    cost MORE and there is the rub, people buy cheap and quality is made less
    and less often because it is squeezed out, what sells shapes what gets made.

    Buy cheap crap, get cheap crap. Eat fast food while you’re at it then
    complain about that.

    Jonathan Myers
    Jonathan Myers
    10 years ago

    I’m quite happy with my 1973 John Deere lawn tractor thank you ;)

    shesnailie .
    shesnailie .
    11 years ago

    @36:47 …what the fukushima!

    Alvin Jorge
    Alvin Jorge
    11 years ago

    I can clearly agree with you on that.

    Annan Fay
    Annan Fay
    11 years ago

    “You see, without planned obsolescence these places wouldn’t exist. There
    wouldn’t be any products. There wouldn’t be any industry. There wouldn’t be
    any designers. […] All the jobs would go.” Instead of letting go half
    your staff. Why not reduce work hours by half? Give everyone two or three
    day work weeks. People get less money because they are only working 2-3
    days a week. However, would also spend less money on replacements. People
    would have more time to enjoy living.

    Leon-ardo Ojo de Oro
    Leon-ardo Ojo de Oro
    11 years ago

    what is the adress of the russian site?

    Eldar Babakov
    Eldar Babakov
    11 years ago

    36:43 Ironically enough , the battery of the photo camera is also almost
    dead

    Mikael Hedin
    Mikael Hedin
    11 years ago

    This youtube program is no more aloud and taken away in the “free” Sweden “

    Hamza B
    Hamza B
    11 years ago

    Thank you for this ill be sure to share it