The Junkification of the World

The rotating elements on kitchen hobs that allow you to conveniently regulate the temperature are called »knobs«. Of course, anyone who buys an induction hob nowadays will find themselves fumbling around with fickle touch controls. Gabriel Yoran calls such things – which in certain respects are worse than what preceded them – »junk«. Why do these things even exist? Shouldn’t the evolution of products be a linear progression?

Criticising consumer goods is typically seen as either an outmoded form of anti-capitalism or an expression of reactionary nostalgia. At the same time, with our purchasing power, we are expected to save the climate or contribute to better working conditions in the Global South. In this context, Yoran looks at objects such as shower hoses and fully automatic coffee machines to seek out the causes for this process of junkification. And he dares to confront the taboo of proposing criteria for what lends legitimacy to certain needs. Yoran does this in a way that is as entertaining as it is informed – and while acknowledging the fact that we, as consumers, are also entangled in these processes of junkification.