There was a time when broken things could be repaired.

On street corners, there were people who fixed shoes, clocks, appliances. A jammed spring, a loose screw, someone would sit down, patiently, and bring it back into working order.

That era is gone. Now, when something breaks, you throw it away.

I own a small rotating lamp from Cirque du Soleil. It worked perfectly until one day, out of whim, I took it out to play, only to find the switch broken.

I knew immediately what the issue was. Nothing serious. Five minutes, a quick twist, a small adjustment. But the real problem wasn’t how to fix it. It was that I couldn’t even open it.

It used a special screw. I didn’t have the tool.

And the tool, sold on the market, cost more than the lamp itself. That was the moment it clicked: this isn’t about incompetence. It’s about prohibition.

Capital’s current trick isn’t that you can’t repair, it’s that you’re not allowed to.

In today’s world, fewer people sit down to fix things. Not because we’ve grown stupid, but because repair has been rendered uneconomical.

Objects are cheap. Time is expensive.

Fixing the old no longer makes sense when replacement is faster, cleaner, cheaper.

And then there’s the more ruthless layer, “smart design.” Products now calculate usage: how long, how often, how many clicks. When the time comes, the circuit simply burns itself out.

You want to repair it? Sure. Return to the manufacturer. Pay a premium. You don’t have the tools.

This is no longer about convenience. It’s calculation everywhere.

Calculating when we should replace. Calculating when we should pay. Calculating when we should give up. And slowly, we’re trained into this logic ourselves: broken means disposable. No more understanding; No more hands-on engagement; No more attachment.

Not because we’re indifferent but because this era doesn’t encourage repair. It only encourages replacement.



—— XC Scribbles · 伍拾伍 LV 🛠️