{"product_id":"2026200015659-secondhand-the-waste-makers","title":"The Waste Makers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt a time when American prosperity was celebrated as the crowning achievement of modern civilization, Vance Packard issued a devastating indictment of the culture that built it. The Waste Makers chronicles the systematic manipulation of American consumers by corporations hell-bent on engineering obsolescence — manufacturing products designed to break down, wear out, or fall out of fashion — in the relentless pursuit of ever-greater profits. Packard presents a richly documented expose of how industry and advertising conspired to transform a nation of resourceful citizens into a society of compulsive, disposable-minded consumers, drawing on a wealth of industry data, corporate statements, and cultural observation to build an irrefutable case.\n\nA successor to his landmark The Hidden Persuaders, this 1960 work illustrates Packard's signature blend of investigative rigour and accessible, urgent prose — a style that made him one of the most widely read social critics of the twentieth century. The book argues with prophetic clarity that unchecked consumerism carries profound consequences not only for individual well-being, but for the natural world and democratic society itself. Decades before sustainability became a mainstream concern, Packard sounded an alarm that resonates now more than ever — leaving the reader to wonder just how much, or how little, has truly changed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49203259670747,"sku":"2026200015659-SECONDHAND","price":10.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/6743aa4a-965f-4dc1-9133-059677dd1e57.png?v=1788146673","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200015659-secondhand-the-waste-makers","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}