This is what results from truly free markets.
Truly free markets don't have patents. Abusing the power of the state to destroy competition does not work in a truly free market.
Phoebus cartel
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Re: Phoebus cartel
#12Emerged here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Light from the Wikipedia rabbit hole, could be considered related.
Re: Phoebus cartel
#13Bulb efficiency and bulb life are at odds. In railroad signals, the practice was to use low-power bulbs that barely glowed, and lasted basically forever(nowadays it is all LEDs, Iguess). I am sure no one wants 5W bulbs glowing deep orange at home. Targeting a rather low life is the same as targeting a minimum efficiency.
Re: Phoebus cartel
#14In the days of incandescents I'd pay more for a bulb that burned hotter for a higher CCT (3500k or above), even at the expense of lifetime.
Re: Phoebus cartel
#15This is what results from truly free markets.
The article is incredibly biased. Although Phoebus was a price fixing cartel, the "planned obsolescence" is bullshit. Walmart replaces all of their lights and ballasts (power converters for the lights) on a regular schedule. That is why you rarely see lights not working at Walmart anymore. They don't do it because they want all the lights to work. They do it because if they don't, it costs more in energy and the brig…
Maybe there is no "free market". But without Phoebus, customers could have chosen between shorter-life bulbs that were more efficient, and longer-life bulbs with lower replacement costs. How is that bad?
Re: Phoebus cartel
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
The article is incredibly biased. Although Phoebus was a price fixing cartel, the "planned obsolescence" is bullshit. Walmart replaces all of their lights and ballasts (power converters for the lights) on a regular schedule. That is why you rarely see lights not working at Walmart anymore. They don't do it because they want all the lights to work. They do it because if they don't, it costs more in energy and the brig…
Maybe there is no "free market". But without Phoebus, customers could have chosen between shorter-life bulbs that were more efficient, and longer-life bulbs with lower replacement costs. How is that bad?
the unwashed masses often lack adequate background, information, or necessary context to make a balanced, well-suited solution that will maximize their utility based on their needs.
Re: Phoebus cartel
#17This is what results from truly free markets.
The article is incredibly biased. Although Phoebus was a price fixing cartel, the "planned obsolescence" is bullshit. Walmart replaces all of their lights and ballasts (power converters for the lights) on a regular schedule. That is why you rarely see lights not working at Walmart anymore. They don't do it because they want all the lights to work. They do it because if they don't, it costs more in energy and the brig…
> the "planned obsolescence" is bullshit
Nonsense. We could have light-bulbs that last longer but we don't because someone wants to make more money and can externalize the costs of waste. Planned obsolescence is rampant and getting worse. (How many iPhones have you bought?)
Re: Phoebus cartel
#18Reading up on it, it seems like the justification for creating Phoebus was to standardize the industry (it's the reason all of our lightbulbs today follow the same rating system and screw in the same way). But clearly they ran amok to serve their own interests. Cartels are very interesting: historically few are successful long term - there is too much incentive for newcomers to undercut prices. They need something to…
I suppose that's true, but I'm not sure it's fair to attribute the rise of a newcomer to the death of this specific cartel. WWII did a number on the global economy
Newcomers like china usually shake traditional leaseholders and rent seekers up. Good thing they exist.
Re: Phoebus cartel
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe there is no "free market". But without Phoebus, customers could have chosen between shorter-life bulbs that were more efficient, and longer-life bulbs with lower replacement costs. How is that bad?
the unwashed masses often lack adequate background, information, or necessary context to make a balanced, well-suited solution that will maximize their utility based on their needs.
You're being sarcastic, right?
It doesn't matter what the "unwashed masses" lack. What matters is that they have the choice.
Your argument is tantamount to "I have this gun, so I know best how to maximize the utility of your wallet."
Re: Phoebus cartel
#20Reading up on it, it seems like the justification for creating Phoebus was to standardize the industry (it's the reason all of our lightbulbs today follow the same rating system and screw in the same way). But clearly they ran amok to serve their own interests. Cartels are very interesting: historically few are successful long term - there is too much incentive for newcomers to undercut prices. They need something to…
>Cartels are very interesting: historically few are successful long term
OPEC has been around for 57 years and seems to be holding together. My uneducated hunch is that the success of a cartel has to do with how fungible the product is and oil is very near the top of the list.