• pedestrian@links.hackliberty.org
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    10 months ago

    Second video summary:

    The video discusses how disposable vapes reflect the priorities of contemporary capitalism. It explores how industries are increasingly designing products and services to cultivate addiction and eliminate consumer choice. This includes tactics like the razor and blade model, restrictive patents, and subscription services that lock customers into long-term relationships. While governments regulate some addictive products, they often fail to curb exploitative practices that undermine competition. Disposable vapes exemplify how corporations have optimized business models around addiction and behavioral manipulation.

    Something interesting this passage highlights is how companies in diverse industries from vaping to software to insulin have adopted similar strategies originally used by industries like tobacco and gambling. These strategies are designed to establish captive customer bases through addiction, lack of alternatives, and high switching costs.