A car that uses computers and plastics to achieve more miles per gallon but only lasts ten years, and can only be repaired by highly specialized technicians, has a higher overall cost than its purported savings.

There are still VW Beetles running nearly 100 years after production. The cost of making an object one time (rather than ten objects), which can be repaired by a neighbor with a bit of savvy, has proven more cost-effective, human-empowering, and environmentally beneficial than all of our refined tweaking and regulations.

Our habit of promoting "advancement" or "progress" robs the populace of agency. We have created a society where we outsource problems and purchase for shallow novelty: by design, these traits create fragility through dependence.