Planned Obsolescence: Free Market Fearmongering Debunked Again?

People like to denounce planned obsolescence as another proof of free market failure. Any economic hiccup is loudly denounced as "late-stage capitalism collapsing" by people more interested in the blame game than study. I already shared a video which took another look at a common accusation against free market firefighters in London and the alleged heartless capitalism then. In the video below, another YouTuber examines another common example of "free market failure": the Phoebus lightbulb cartel and its conspiracy to cut the lifespan of incandescent bulbs and screw the consumer! But was it really that cut-and-dried?

There is always a tradeoff in any manufactured good. Higher tolerances and better materials massively increase costs. Anything in use will wear out over time. In the case of lightbulbs, long life comes at the expense of light quality and power consumption, as illustrated in the video above. Something less expensive, more efficient, more effective, and easy to replace is better than something more expensive, less efficient, and less effective, all else being equal.

This isn't to say planned obsolescence does not exist, or the adverse effects of cost-cutting in manufacturing can result in unusually short product lives. Cartels with political support can often control prices and reduce consumer choice, too. Be suspicious of corporate fat cats and their governmental cronies by all means, but don't blindly swallow every accusation against them either, especially when people are saying, "the free market failed." Dig deeper and ask what is being left out of every narrative.

Technology Connections could have made some errors in fact or reasoning here. I could be wrong in economic analysis and design engineering. Weigh the arguments and evidence. But don't act like a flat-earther who just dismisses or ignores anything contradicting their ideas, please.