As a romantic, I yearn for the days when manufactured goods were produced to last with a consistent feature of quality. Surely, I'm a dreamer. As today's reality befits mass produced crap that benefits a high profit margin, where most everything {from A to Z} is manufactured with the intent of being repaired or replace in a short time frame. Good for business, of course. The mindless, and seemingly catatonic, consumption model drives this perpetuation of lesser and lesser quality. Wonder if an ant-consumer movement would be in order? Just thinking out loud.

Self-sufficiency and independence is a thing of the past.

I think you can still buy quality....but quality is in itself a selling feature now so not only do you pay for the quality, you also pay for "quality".

I think you can still buy quality....but quality is in itself a selling feature now so not only do you pay for the quality, you also pay for "quality".

Perhaps in the commercial processed circle. I'm yet to be convinced about 'mass production' quality. A good value is hard to come by.....I'm one whom doesn't buy {no pun} this high price=quality nonsense. This ideal is easy to socially engineer.