Waste of resources

In a society in which a high standard of living demands particularly rapid consumption of new goods, many perfectly usable goods may be scrapped or goods may be made with a built-in obsolescence. The materials consumed in this kind of production are unlikely to be recovered in full, and are often not even partially salvaged; pollution is created by this overproduction of factory waste, scrap, and refuse, but fast profit-making industries tend to be less concerned with anti-pollution precautions. As machinery is developed to replace manpower (since it can produce more at a faster rate), so human resources are also wasted. The democratic capitalist ideal of providing universal education also wastes resources, by educating technicians or professionals for whom there may be no work either currently or in the future.