Disposable Society

Quite a thought provoking song, or rather a poem from all the way back in 1974, also sung by Esther Phillips.

Disposable society has thrown away the best in me.
It’s thrown away sincerity,
the keystone of integrity.
Disposable to throw away,
buy something new another day.
There is nothing made that’s made to stay.
Planned obsolescence will make you pay:
paper plates, cardboard skates, plastic silverware,
automobiles with disposable wheels,
wigs instead of hair, that’s how it is.
Disposable the way you love,
not exactly what you’re thinking of.
Dispose of me when you are through
for fear that I’ll dispose of you.
Disposable your closest friend,
you’re supposed to love right to the end.
Your rigid mind won’t let you bend.
You’re further gone than you pretend…

Eugene McDaniels, 1974

What are the social effects of a design, or a technology?

Can a design, or a technology encourage positive cultural change and how?

And what if you replace “Disposable” with another characteristic also relevant in modern society, like maybe “Consumerist”?

But in actual fact so many words could be used in the framework of a similar song to explore their consequences, even positive ones.