The design choices of the socialists, are now being revived
It was once a land where people were equal, resources were well managed by the state and waste was a disgrace to society.
This realm was ruled by little red men with big ambitions who redesigned the whole society.
You may have already caught on that I am referring to the socialist world and that their realm existed largely only in theory.
Nothing remained that was not redesigned and rethought, so the values of that utopian world soon reached the product designers of the time. And so a set of basic rules for socialist design was born.
This while the Western world enjoyed free markets, endless resources imported from all over the world, and superior quality goods.
But were the socialists' ideas so bad and the products they created so poor?
Well, the answer is simple. Yes, the products were poor, much harder to use, no attention to detail or quality, but one thing was very good, attention to reducing waste and using local resources.
So good were those concepts that we are seeing their revival in a modern form in today's society.
After decades marked only by increasing profit margins, the capitalist world is finally realizing that resources are not endless, and most former colonies are now independent states with ambitions of their own.
So let's flip through the pages of history books in search of socialist design principles and compare them with modern-day initiatives.
Repairability then: washing machines
In the early 1950s, the first Soviet washing machines appeared. As a result of party directives to improve comfort and quality of life.
But the manufactured machines could rather boast of the ease, speed, and low cost of repairs, as technically these units were largely very primitive.
Replacement with a new product was out of the question, as most of these "luxury products" had waiting lists of 3 to 5 years.
Reparability now:
In the spirit of democracy, the modern Western world only encourages reparability.
And the initiatives are subtle, refined, and promising. That's how the labels indicating the repairability of certain products came into existence. You are even offered kits and step-by-step tutorials on how to service some products successfully.
And others offer modular design under slogans like "Built for longevity".
Soviets: "No need for labels or repair tutorials"
Waste streams: Trabant Body
When materials from domestic production were not enough and as imports were not viewed favorably, designers had to be inventive and find solutions.
One such solution was used in the manufacture of the body of the famous Trabant. For which cotton waste from the textile industry and phenol resin, or Duroplast for short, were used.
But the designers' work has been the subject of jokes and mockery from Western automotive journalists, calling the Trabant a cardboard car.
Waste streams now:
Cars with "cardboard" bodies are now however becoming more and more appealing. From space agencies to major car manufacturers or even the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1, all are already developing or using bio-composite elements reinforced with natural fibers.
Hemp, flax, or sugar cane bound together with a bio-based resin. This results in elements with a lower carbon footprint, reduced costs, and improved user safety.
German "cardboard" cars: GDR vs Germany
Reuse: the glass from the vending machine.
Carbonated water with fruit syrup was a sensation in the USSR.
People waited in queues for a glass of soda. Which was consumed on the spot in front of the vending machine.
Then you would turn the glass upside down and a spray of water would superficially sanitize the glass. Next! The same glass was used and reused by all the thirsty people in the queue. Another lackadaisical solution from the Soviets, but one that didn't produce an ounce of waste.
Reuse now:
Now, instead, we have no-cup vending machines. We are encouraged to bring a reusable bottle or our own glass to enjoy the refreshing liqueurs.
In other cases, we are offered reusable glasses that are industrially sanitized after each session of use.
Some things look similar
Ownership: car as a service, SMZ S-3D car for the disabled
A car whose owner is not you but another entity in this case the state.
Distributed by the social agencies of the state to the disabled, free of charge or with very large discounts depending on the category of disability.
After 5 years the car would return to the state and be replaced by a new one.
The cars also received free servicing after two and a half years of operation.
Ownership now:
Mobility in general is a segment that can be optimized by offering transport as a service rather than as a product.
The same is to be said for many medical devices and fortunately, modern society has made amazing progress in these sectors.
It often raises the question of who owns what? But ownership is getting flexible.
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Not having and not needing
Perhaps the fundamental principle in the creation of the socialist society of yesteryear was simply to provide a minimum of necessary goods and nothing more.
And what you did have was truly valued and rigorously repaired. (Explained briefly and without any waste of words! :) because waste is a capitalistic thing, or at least it was)
Not having and not needing, now:
We now realize that we are addicted to some products, and with great effort, we are giving up the comfort some of them bring.
But we will soon end up thinking twice before buying something. Definitely upon things that we will use very little and that will be a resource blockage 90% of the time. The first thing we can now do to be more sustainable is to refuse to have some superficial needs.
Thus many of today's sustainable initiatives are based on ideas and products from generations ago.
For the Soviets the intentions may have been good, but for the wrong reasons.
Now we have much better products, intentions and reasons that will have a positive impact on society and for those who pay attention, a history that reveals many interesting things.
images gathered from the following sources: made in USSR, bosch-home.fr, bcomp, kw.be, arktorus.livejournal, uncle-vova, volvo, 1stdibs
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