The secret of true love. “At that time, it was customary to fix broken things and not throw them away. Broken things were repaired and not thrown away

In our time, things were repaired, not thrown away

Citizens of the former USSR are nostalgic about something that is not expected in the foreseeable future

So, we already have a rough idea of ​​what was happening in the West, which found itself in the tenacious networks of the producers’ conspiracy. But did the same thing really happen in the USSR and Eastern European countries and they sold us “disposable things”? Unlikely and here's why.

The lamp cartel, which limited the operating time of light bulbs to 1 thousand hours, disappeared into oblivion, but was that the end of the matter? After the Second World War, issues of production and provision of consumer goods to the population became especially acute. And it immediately became clear that world production went along two main directions - capitalist (with private interests and the pursuit of profit at any cost) and socialist (planned production under an administrative-command system). For a long time we were familiar only with the second production method. And when the first one came to us, the difference immediately became noticeable and there was a strong feeling that this was not clean.

“The backward economy of the USSR” and “red refrigerators”

After the fall Soviet Union Western and domestic liberal economists attacked the social model of the economy with harsh criticism. They say that the USSR lagged behind in the production of any things except tanks and airplanes, and it is impossible to regulate the production of everything and everyone - from matches to nuclear bombs - from a single center. And of course, that characteristic features Such an economy means a constant deficit and two types of sausage instead of the current 20. The achievements of capitalism (and the imaginary abundance of goods that came with it) were presented to us as a universal blessing. And this is where things got weird.

Refrigerators made in USSR - it always sounded proud

The modern consumer has a lot of examples before his eyes - take, for example, refrigerators of the ZiL, Minsk, Oka or Donbass class, which initially worked for 20 years with virtually no breakdowns at home and have now been working in the country for ten years. And, for example, some Samsung or LG, which is now at home. For some reason, even such “advanced” Western models do not evoke a feeling of reliability. Plastic parts, too “abstruse” freezing and defrosting systems and delicate filling – these are the signs of a “capitalist” refrigerator. Metal, simplicity and reliability, the absence of breaking parts - these are the features of the “socialist” model of kitchen appliances. For example, in our home “Oka”, after almost 30 years of operation, it is good if one lamp for lighting the “freezing space” was replaced. The light bulb (!) did not fail either. Looking at such examples, our consumer discovers the “great secret of production.”

Although with such “cosmic” durability and performance, Soviet technology was rightly reproached for large quantities defective and questionable user interface.

What manufacturers in the West are silent about

It turns out that in a planned economy it is profitable to produce a simple, reliable and inexpensive thing. One that you can repair (sometimes even yourself) and continue to use. One that does not need advertising and quick replacement within 2-3 years. After all, the main principle of such an economy is to provide (and not smuggle) the consumer with the necessary (really necessary thing). Having a clear plan and knowing the needs of consumers, you can easily and simply produce a high-quality TV, refrigerator, washing machine and an ordinary car. And the consumer will be satisfied, because he does not have to compare the diagonal length of the refrigerator with his neighbor and “trump” with the words “2016 model.” He has a reliable and working piece of equipment that performs all its functions and does not require repairs or special care. This is an assistant and a “house slave”, and not an expensive toy that you must definitely buy so that you don’t feel ashamed in front of your neighbors.

Kenya and Bangladesh are already littered to the rooftops with “old” equipment

A completely different situation arises when ten “independent players” enter the market. Let us remember the “lamp” conspiracy - it is advantageous for them to appear “independent” and even “competitive” in our eyes. But they have at least one thing in common: the golden calf of profit. And for this reason, you can become “best enemies” for a while. The ten largest refrigerator manufacturers are beginning to install approximately identical elements- unreliable, capricious, requiring the consumer to dance around them - clean and wash. The more parts there are, the greater the chances that something will break (compare the indestructible Soviet Stork bicycle and the modern 27-speed miracle of technology). And just recently the rosy dream of the creators began to come true household appliances– operating systems are introduced into them. Where there are operating systems and other cyber controls, there are chips. And with the help of a microcircuit you can create miracles with technology.

"Activate order 66"

Remember how in the movie " star Wars. Episode III. Revenge of the Sith" Darth Sidious - the new Emperor of the Galaxy - contacts the commanders of the clone army and gives instructions to put into effect "Order 66"? After this, the soldiers shoot in the backs of the Jedi knights, with whom they just fought side by side, and kill almost all of them. Of course George Lucas created the allegory. But what if it leaked into our real world?

Perhaps it is at these moments that your equipment receives its “order 66”

After all, Western technology, equipped with chips and various sensors, also essentially shoots us in the back, suddenly (for us), but “programmed” to fail. What if most of it carries “order 66”, which is activated after the warranty period or 2-3 year service life has expired? Haven't you encountered something similar?

A planned breakdown is very difficult, if not almost impossible, to distinguish from a regular defect in the series or the features of this particular model. Previously (in the first years of the existence of a conspiracy of manufacturers), if something broke, we dejectedly took the equipment to the workshop, where the master, smiling sympathetically and maliciously, repaired our equipment (usually for money, the warranty period had passed). After that, he returned it with the words: “You were the first to apply...”. But if we could look into his closet, we would be surprised to find broken devices there of the same model as ours. And it would be nice if previous users came with other problems and malfunctions - but no, all the breakdowns are identical.

He will not tell you that in a month you will come back with another breakdown, because the mechanism of planned obsolescence in your device has been launched and it will never work normally again. Only with repairs, interruptions, exactly until you buy a new one. Of course, him too profitable, so that you come, but the modern master does not remain at a loss anyway.

Trapped by planned obsolescence

Is it possible to imagine this in the USSR? Excluded. Firstly, frequent breakdowns, and even more so planned wear and tear would undermine Moscow-regulated industry. The plans clearly outlined what, in what quantity and quality to produce. All kinds of modernization, development of new models, reorientation of production and personnel were too expensive. The normal production cycle of refrigerators such as “Saratov” and “Zil” was 5 years. In reality, the same model was produced in millions of batches for 7-10 years. Moreover, she served for 20-30 years. The VAZ-2101 car (the legendary “penny”) was produced almost unchanged from 1970 to 1988. There are monuments to this car (show me at least one monument to a Toyota Avensis). Now this is presented as slowness and “backwardness” from the Western hyper-consumer model.

Consume, consume, consume - the slogan of the modern world

The second, less obvious reason that did not allow the equipment to fail after 2-3 years was the “just indignation of the proletariat.” If a Soviet person was forced to update his home telephone or television with such frequency, he would grab the cobblestones.

This is where the superficial reader will incorrectly exclaim: “I want to go back to the USSR!” Everything was fair there and there was no consumerism.” It was, comrades, it was. Western tentacles probed our 250 million-strong market for interest in other, foreign things. And he was and what else. Hungarian sets, Yugoslav sets, Czech motorcycles - even this beckoned and attracted. What can we say about American jeans, West German cars and Swiss watches? Here readers will again exclaim: “The USSR was destroyed for jeans!” and again they will not be completely right. It’s just that one system of production and consumption (an endless circle of consumer goods, a whirlwind capturing a citizen stunned by abundance) defeated another (one-time rational purchase of things for long-term use).

What did you fight for...

When the predatory Western octopus finally burst into our market with glossy magazines, advertising, talk shows, luxury, lifestyle and a continuous race for money, we were stunned. It turned out that the diversity is imaginary. There are only two major manufacturers of computer processors in the world – Intel and AMD. There are only a few major manufacturers of smartphones, cameras, hair clippers and vacuum cleaners. Nobody promised you Mercedes at the price of Zhiguli and televisions as reliable as the old Rubin.

Fueled by constant advertising, the image of “luxury life” imposed by TV, magazines, the Internet and unwitting accomplices of this consumer race, we began to sweep all junk off the shelves. Which works for two or three years, and if it continues longer, then in itself it becomes “outdated”, “out of fashion”, “cheaper” and ceases to cope with ordinary tasks, because the developer of office software and applications has updated his programs and yours. the device now does not pull them.

They didn’t understand, they didn’t save it - what are old cars sad about?

The manufacturer, in turn, has lost interest in producing reliable and “long-lasting” things. He armed himself with computers and marketing analysts and calculated that this hard drive is designed for 500 write/rewrite cycles, and this bicycle will not travel more than 8,000 km. So he writes - the warranty is one year, the service life is two. Then, depending on your luck, either stay with the “old stuff” or change it. Repairing is expensive, time-consuming, and unprofitable. In the meantime, we'll update the OS a little, add a couple of emoticons and make the new processor require 8 GB of RAM instead of 6 GB. Everyone has a job - engineers, programmers, sales managers, and marketers. Who cares if the new OS comes out with vulnerabilities, holes for viruses and is as demanding as spyware for the Pentagon. A new one will be released in a year anyway!

This octopus has closed in on itself. Production for production's sake, work for work's sake. He understands this himself, he sits on it like on a strong drug, but he can no longer get off. He knows that there are no alternatives to this, but the development of technology and production also has a limit. We need breakthroughs, we need new research, we need investments. Instead, they throw us a beautiful wrapper made of bright foil, increase the processor power to 6, 8, 10 cores, add a pinch of aluminum to the body and announce the release of all-metal devices. And all this comes with built-in “Order 66”, sanctioned by the manufacturer cartels.

In the next part, we will find out why all the evil in the world is contained in microchips, how to distinguish planned obsolescence from real obsolescence, we will understand whether all manufacturers are involved in the conspiracy and what to do with all this.

I recently came across a photo on the Internet from the “crazy hands” series. A completely insane design in an attempt to make something out of nothing. I couldn’t stand it and went to look at more similar things. So many inventors! For some reason this is completely underwhelming. And it's not even funny. All these attempts to sculpt a bullet out of shit or make it according to the “get rid of it” principle.

Although, in essence, these are two different principles: sculpting a “work of art” out of nothing is an absence common sense, at a minimum, and in the second case - simple negligence. And what unites all this is the spirit of freebies. Freebies of money and time.

No, I'm not against renovations at all if it's justified. You shouldn’t, as in the joke about the new Russian, change your Mercedes because of an overfilled ashtray. And it’s also not good to throw away family heirlooms - tea, family strength and all that.

I'm talking about a lot of effort to repair something that should be thrown away. And if you do the math, so much time and effort is spent on hatching the idea of ​​a free solution to a problem in the “crazy hands” style and its further implementation that you could easily make money on new thing. Yes, at the same time, one loses delight in oneself - “wow, what a great fellow I am - I came up with such a thing!” and most importantly - free of charge." In such cases, common sense sleeps like a dead sleep, completely strangled by the illusion of its own genius.

And the sad thing is that this is a lifestyle and a way of thinking. There is no point in looking for ways to make money by doing what you really can. It’s much more pleasant to wallow in free-flowing “solutions”, closing your eyes to the result.

It's even sadder when this same style of thinking extends to relationships. Thinking in general is an unambiguous thing. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything else.

So we got to the title of the article) And how does all this relate to a popular post on the Internet?

— How did you manage to live your whole life together?
“We lived in a time when old things were repaired and not thrown away.

At first glance, everything is correct - mend the old relationship, and you will be happy for all time. Only the key word here was not “repaired.”

The key word is "WE". No freebies! If a distance of 10 steps appears in a relationship, then everyone takes a step towards each other, one by one. Each 5 steps - this is Us! Then everything really gets resolved. The roof is repaired, socks are darned, relationships are improved.

But if someone waits for happiness to be inflicted on him, without changing in response, not even a step forward, there will be no repair. 10 steps on one side - that's it! The horse is dead, get off. All attempts to revive are the same principle of “crazy hands” and free solutions.

Probably, in those magical times when everything was fixed, including relationships, there was simply more common sense, responsibility and awareness. There were difficult either/or choices, and no free-spirited decisions. “We lived” - we lived! Saw, heard, did.

And now we listen to the player and look at the gadget. We hang out on social networks - our whole life is there! Do? Come on, get out new toy on social networks...

We have so many opportunities, courtesy of progress. But we don’t see, we don’t hear, we don’t do. And all the possibilities fly by at incredible speed.

They didn't promise to feed me on the way, so please:

• take responsibility, and above all for your life
• see and hear - loved ones, partners, clients. Remember how in Avatar - “I see you”?
• consciously doing what brings results is just a little common sense.

And all will be well! It will be repaired

An elderly couple celebrated their 50th anniversary life together. Many guests, many young people... And everyone asked one question that interested me most:
- Share your secret of how you can live together for so long? What is the secret of true love?
They smiled and answered:
- It’s very simple, we grew up in a time when broken things were repaired and not thrown away.

So what is it, the secret of true love?

Many will answer this question without hesitation: living your whole life side by side, building a house, planting a tree, raising children - this is it, real love, mutual patience is this very secret. As usual, they will cite the example of grandparents who gave the world a dozen sons and daughters, who gave dozens of years for the good of the family, this is the strongest and most indestructible. But in fact, the highlight is completely different. Let's look around, let's take a moment to look at our beloved and dear creatures (it's not for nothing that the Bible says that husband and wife are one, flesh of flesh), let's try to recall in our memory a few ordinary days lived together. Morning coffee with a sandwich, served in bed to your loved one, despite the fact that you yourself would not mind sleeping longer, ordinary daytime worries with the kitchen and small purchases, with a secret thought about what surprise you can please in the evening, every conversation over tea, with the desire to not only be heard, but first of all to hear and feel a loved one, so that he knows for sure that love is complete surrender and sacrifice. Not a forced sacrifice of oneself, but a voluntary, joyful one. The Apostle Paul so precisely says “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep,” and it is in this desire to give oneself entirely and without reserve that lies mysterious secret true eternal love.

There's just a little time left until the New Year. And where, if not in the registry office, can you find out about love affairs and the demographic situation in our city and region in the past year?

“Unfortunately, the birth rate has decreased compared to last year,” says Natalya Ivanovna Lotoreva, head of the civil registry office of the Lgovsky district administration. – This year, 219 babies were born in the city and region, which is 22 babies less than in 2017. The number of divorced marriages has also increased. If last year 115 couples divorced, then this year – 126.

– How many registered marriages were there?

– It’s the same situation here. Lgov residents are in no hurry to legitimize their relationship. Only 172 couples got married, and last year 202 decided to take this serious step.

– Natalya Ivanovna, why do you think this happens?

– The concept of family has changed a little in our time. Many people prefer to simply live together without registering their marriage. Because marriage, I think, is a serious responsibility. And very few people want to take on any responsibility now. Divorces also happen for the same reason. I once heard an elderly couple who had lived together for 60 years being asked: “How did you manage to live together for so long?” And their answer was: “You see, we were born and raised in a time when broken things were repaired and not thrown away.”

– What do the registry office employees remember about the past year?

- An unprecedented number of twins. If in past years there were 6-7 such cases, then this year 12 twins were born in the Lgov region! In addition, on October 1, 2018, the Federal Law came into force, which provides for the entry of civil status records into the information system of the unified state registry office. Now registration of all types of acts of civil status (birth, marriage, divorce, etc.), as well as making corrections to vital records, is carried out using a new unified software - the Federal Unified State Information System "Unified State Register of Civil Status Records" or abbreviated as USR.

– Did this make the work of the employees of the Lgov Civil Registry Office easier?

– It’s difficult to answer this question for now. But I can say for sure what is happening now big job on the formation of an electronic archive. 80% of acts have already been converted into electronic form. An archive database has been formed from 1948 to the present. This will create the basis for a register of the population of Russia. Information from the register is needed in order to take into account the birth of children, conscription into the army, calculate the needs for kindergartens and schools, pension funds when citizens retire, various benefits and allowances. More complete information will allow you to save budget funds.

– How are these changes useful for Lgov residents who apply to the registry office?

– You no longer have to wait long for any service. As previously compiled acts of records are included in the Unified State Register, it will be possible to receive a repeat document right on the day of application: a certificate or certificate, even if the record itself is stored at the other end of the country. In the meantime, we hope for the understanding of the Lgov residents who contact us. After all, while the USR software is constantly being improved, which often leads to an increase in the time it takes our employees to provide public services.

– Natalya Ivanovna, last Wednesday your professional holiday was celebrated – the Day of Civil Registry Office Workers. What would you wish to your colleagues?

– First of all, I want to say a big and sincere thank you to them for always being my support and support. Their hard work and optimistic attitude always creates a warm and friendly atmosphere at work. I wish that their work brings only joy, that each of them is happy, healthy and loved.