Philadelphia ISL

Correspondence

[Permanent War Economy]

From The New International, Vol. XVII No. 6, November–December 1951, p. 375.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.

Philadelphia, Pa.
December 18, 1951

To the Editor of
The New International:

In a discussion here on The Permanent War Economy, the observation was made that an additional characteristic of our present economy is the declining quality of consumers goods. A number of examples can be given:

In the food category – white bread is notorious for its poor taste, excessive aeration and the addition of dubious chemicals. The quality of canned foods has declined noticeably.
The quality of clothing – material and workmanship – has deteriorated. Particularly is this true of children’s and work clothing.
Many mechanical products are increasingly poorly designed and manufactured. An excellent example is the ornamentation, bulging lines and flimsy structure of today’s pleasure car.
Consumer services are less satisfactory. Gone is the twice-a-day mail delivery and the everyday visit of the milk and bread truck. In many places, public transportation remains crowded and unreliable.
Home building today is a glaring example of poor quality. Unseasoned and split lumber, low grade cement, poor workmanship, patchwork construction, cause early deterioration and contribute heavily to a declining standard of living.

Inferior quality of goods is tied in closely with factors discussed by Vance. There are quite a few causes and contributing factors. In most instances the poor quality enables business to cut costs and reap high profits. Goods must be replaced more often; another factor in the inflation picture. Any saving in labor is diverted to the production of war goods.

Some of the inferior products do result from material shortages due to depletion of resources and war needs. Lower standards caused by (or rationalized by) conditions in World War II have become permanent. Substitute materials and techniques are often inferior rather than superior to the original.

Technical research has gone to war and is not concerned with improvement of consumer goods. The elimination of competition has enabled many producers to deliberately cheapen their products so as to reap larger products. They no longer fear a rival producing a better commodity and driving their, poor product out of the market. This holds true in both the durable goods sector of the economy and in the light goods sector. Uses of new materials in particular have not been sufficiently explored. Many products are designed to fail or wear out quickly.

Perfection of advertising techniques, including television, has done much to soften consumers’ resistance to the declining quality of goods and services. This cannot obscure the fact that quality is a casualty of the permanent war economy.

Fraternally yours,
Philadelphia Branch
Independent Socialist League

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