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guest_
· 5 years ago
· FIRST
Objection! In capitalism- the goal is to make money. In the theory of capitalism- one provides goods or services that are needed and desired by the consumer, with a higher value than competitors. It doesn’t actually matter HOW one does it though. In modern western capitalism- a combination of artificial want through marketing and product planning or synergies pushes consumer demand for what you want to SELL and not what people want to BUY. One method of this is “planned obsolescence” in which products are engineered to only last a given life cycle of duty cycle before replacement or repair is likely.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
However- this is also consumer driven- a society with high consumption, and where conspicuous consumption is a status symbol- craves “new” items. Vacuums and other appliances made in the 1950’s are still not only functional, but are capable of being kept functioning for the conceivable future, AND many perform as well or better than modern contemporaries. However- much like many discarded their furniture and decor from the 50’s, 60’s, 80’s etc. when it was 5,10 years old and seemed “dated” only for the same styles or even the same items to come back as popular after decades had passed due to scarcity and nostalgia- we tend to discard the old until it is old enough to be considered “classic” or “antique” (or as the kids say: “vintage.”)
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guest_
· 5 years ago
So the consumer- who might keep something like a car for an average maximum of 6 years, and said car will be junked at an average maximum of 10 years- incentivized corporations to create products that break. It costs more money and takes more time to create a durable product. If you create a car that will last for 60 years- the odds that most people will still be driving them and doing upkeep on them to keep them in service for more than 10 is doubtful. Hence why old cars like Ford Mustangs where half a million we’re sold the cost year alone- can be rare decades later. Attrition. So by designing a product not meant to outlast the average consumer or product cycle you can reduce costs and speed up development and release of product to match consumer demand.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
HOWEVER! While people have “moods” and the like with foods- some things remain fairly constant. A person who gets Starbucks coffee tends to usually get a specific drink or a stable of constant drinks based on condition. It’s common that person will seek specifically Starbucks over other brands of coffee. Likewise- people tend to have preferences in candy- that friend who likes lots but can’t say no to a Snickers or a Mars bar of all candies.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
The ever lasting gobstopper is highly capitalist. You see- it generates buzz. How “hot” is the gobstopper business? How many competitors are there? If they announced a never ending candy tomorrow- that would generate buzz. That would generate brand recognition. People would be talking about the gobstopper, about wonka. But when’s the last time you saw gobstoppers at a regular store? At a random gas station? Of the few gobstopper enthusiasts how much business are they losing by providing them a never ending candy?
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guest_
· 5 years ago
But- how much more business will they create? People will buy the thing that never would have bought or even heard of gobstoppers otherwise. People will give them as gifts. It will become a “fad” and then need outlets will run with it and more people will come. The “cool” folks and hipsters will now be over the hype because it’s mainstream and lame. Fox will try to link shootings to gobstoppers and CNN will warm of “everlasting sex parties” or some way teens are using the things for sex or turning into an improbable way to get high.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
Then it becomes a meme, a “challenge” where people give them as gag gifts or fill swimming pools with them or whatever else. The lawyers jump in. The everlasting candy that’s caused choking, the guy who swallowed 50 and now they’re stuck in him forever, the kids who lost all their teeth or became obese, the lady who says the process to make it last forever causes cancer.... the Sierra club sues because discarded gobstoppers never decompose. They allege Wonka KNEW people would get tired of sickening sweet artificial fruit flavors long before “forever” and was irresponsible. And....
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Edited 5 years ago
guest_
· 5 years ago
Wonka DID know. That’s why it’s not the “everlasting chocolate bar” or something people would actually want. Who in their right mind would suck on a fruit candy for more than a few minutes at a time once in awhile? What’s more- who’s going to properly store and clean the sticky mess? Once the novelty wears off and you got sick of it and stopped using it- a few months pass. Now you’re maybe in the mood for gobstopper again? Ok. Where did you put the damn thing? Did you put it in your pocket on train ride home or did you spit in in the trash because you didn’t want a sticky slobber soaked mess in your pocket? Can you find it? If you do- is it covered in lint or dust or dried spit and you aren’t going to wash it off and keep going are you? You’ll just go buy another.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
But... would you even be buying gobstoppers everlasting or not if the hype from the everlasting gobstopper didn’t get your attention and make you try it? Would you be having a gobstopper craving at all if not for that? Probably not. But what about those other guys making gobstopper type candy? If the everlasting stopper is priced well- what hope do they have? Or really most any lousy artificially fruit flavored hard candy? $2 for a bag of hard candy or $3 for an INFINITE gobstopper? What’s more modern capitalist than selling you way more of something than you need at a cheap price? Plus Wonka basically corners the market on shitty fruit candy while pulling in new customers and revitalizing a product- making you want a product- that the day before was hard to give away? Between a regular gobstopper mini pack or a mini chocolate bar- most kids on Halloween aren’t reaching for the gobstoppers.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
So I do submit that Wonka is not a socialist or a pinko. He has a chocolate lake and a glass elevator for no damn good reason. His whole factory is decked out like a penthouse in Dubai. He gives out golden tickets, dangles the possibility of opportunity and reward for anyone- willing to pay in to his system and support his industry- as incentive to mindless consumerism and adherence to his prescribed whims- the whole thing is so capitalist it hurts. Except the part where he gives wealth and power to a person based on their morality and suitability. If it were a true model of our capitalism the rich kid would have won.
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denusknife37
· 5 years ago
did you have this on standby just in case someone brings Wonka and what political ideologies he follows up?
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guest_
· 5 years ago
Nah. It came to me in the moment.
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ernster
· 5 years ago
This is beautiful commentary, this is why I come here. The wisdom and profound insight on a mundane post I’d usually scroll by. Bless.
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properchaos
· 5 years ago
My brother and I have a theory that Wonka only created the everlasting gobstopper to test the kids honesty. He was never going to release it to the public. No one outside of wonka's factory had any knowledge of the candy, and we only hear about it from slugworth, who was actually working for wonka.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
Ooh. I like it.
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anha_rockitship
· 5 years ago
He literally says he makes it for kids with very little pocket money!
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serenitas
· 5 years ago
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