AMONG the conceits of boosters of modern-day capitalism, with its supposed free competition and “free trade,” is the idea that consumers are supplied with a wide range of choices and that the best products win out due to the forces of competition.
That this is myth is easily exposed by a trip to the supermarket or mall. The truth is, capitalism, as we know it, often consigns us to a very limited array of inferior products. There is all too often no hope for any competition to the producers of obvious junk because they are so big and so well-funded and so pervasive.
Here is one small example.
I recently set out to buy a replacement for the sponge of my kitchen mop. It was one of those mops that is squeezed out by pushing down on a sleeve on the handle. It is a simple design that was common for many years. I bought the mop two or three years ago. But I found out, after going to five or six stores, that the sponge refill is no longer available. The mop has been discontinued and you cannot buy a refill pad anywhere, not even online. No other mop manufacturer produces a simple mop refill for this model.
That meant I had to buy a new mop, not just a new sponge. But the kitchen mops that were available were all …. technologically weird. They included this complicated Libman “Freedom Mop” (above, what a ridiculous name for a mop), which does not allow you to dunk the mop head in water and wring it out. Other mops had styrofoam pads, which do not hold water, or had other similarly complicated, counterintuitive designs. Basically none of the mops could be used with a simple pail of water and an easy mechanism for squeezing a sponge mop head out without bending down. I was in one store and spotted something that seemed to fit the bill. I grabbed it. On my very first use of this plastic mop — I am not lying — it broke. Part of the plastic head just snapped.
While I was shopping, I ran into a woman in the aisle of yet another store. She heard me talking about how bad all the mops were. She interjected and said she has looked for a simple, decent kitchen mop everywhere and could not find one. Yet think of how basic a mop is to daily life. Everyone needs a mop.
It was obvious, after searching over a two-week period, that the few mop manufacturers that supply most stores want consumers to buy the “mops” with disposable wet pads such as those produced by Swiffer. These pads are expensive and give off a strong chemical odor. I used them for a while, but I don’t like them. There’s something decadent and wasteful about pulling out a chemical-bathed diaper every time you want to clean the floor and throwing it out after one use.
I ended up buying this other mop by Libman with its cheap plastic parts and big brush. I am willing to bet that the replacement sponge will not be available for all that much longer and that the whole thing will not last for long. “Free enterprise” often seems to entail compulsory consumption of trash. The people who produce this junk in factories in China are probably paid very little and have no fondness for the product either.
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