The real issue is that consumers are stupid and want to stay stupid which means modular products, being more complicated, are not something they are going to shell out for.
It's a lot easier to say "buy this widget for $x a month for 48 months" (classic US example) than to say "what computer do you have? oh you don't know. why don't we arrange for me to have a look at it another day. uhuh. ok well i've taken a look and if we upgrade the graphics card, hard disk and ram we can probably get that working really nicely for you".
People just don't care. They want a result now, they want it to have a name, they want it to be marketed, they want to show it off and lord it over their proverbial neighbor.
Petty, stupid consumers are the real problem.
Fixing this situation, which has accelerated under the influence of commercial media and dwindling state education budgets in many western countries essentially must begin with education and regulation.
Or maybe they aren't stupid and they're simply acting in their own self-interest, which means not wasting their time with unnecessarily more complicated products that offer little to them in return. Or maybe they do want the products they use to be status symbols. Or maybe they simply don't share your point of view.
This doesn't mean they're necessarily stupid, it means they're different from you.
I disagree; there is some definition of 'stupid' that exists in the same shape and form in most consumers. It stems from laziness, desire for showing off and instant gratification, and lack of critical thinking when being bombarded with marketing BS like cool visuals, gimmicky features and awesome keywords. The same self-interest leads to them being stupid and, usually, staying stupid.
The stupidity of the average consumer manifests itself in not wanting to "waste time" with some "nerdy tech thingamajig" (boohoo muh computer is slow, must be the viruses and need more RAM, lemme buy myself a new one, ooh look the slimmest model, lemme get that. Soldered everything? Non-user replaceable battery? Huh, wtf are those. It's slim and pretty tho) or comparing products on the shelf to make the best, most practical choice (it has X famous brand name that's associated with cool and expensive, great to show off to friends, especially on social media because everyone on there cares. Oh there's a vocal bunch speaking about bad reliability, poor quality that falls apart 1 year and 1 day after purchase and terrible price/performance ratio? Must be lies spread by dem haters).
Yup, pre-purchase research and post-purchase diagnostics (not even asking for much, just googling a problem to see if it's unfixable/too expensive to fix) are things today's consumers would rather not 'waste time' with because they clearly have better things to do that aren't a waste of time, like taking more selfies for Snapchat, raking in likes and loves on Facebook and Instagram and surfing the internet (anyone up for more shopping and getting 'inspiration' from friends on what to buy next to one-up them?) on their $2000 Facebook/web browsing machine and $1000 phone.
The best part is very few of these people learn from others and their own mistakes. They'll continue to buy the same crappy products because they saw a cool ad or all their friends are talking about it without any thinking or research. They'll stay loyal to overpriced brands with poor reliability because 'dat brand name doe' and continue with their need to see and be seen having/doing/wanting cool things. Simple reading to make an informed buying decision? Too uncool! F-that!
On the other end of the spectrum, you have people who spend so much time agonizing over which PC/phone/blender to get that they end up in a circle of not being able to decide.
I've spend more time than I'm willing to divulge, deciding which portable speaker to get, because every option is flawed in some way. Most of them seem to follow the Apple school of thought, "why would you ever want to take this apart?", and are glued or even plastic welded together.
In the end, I'll probably go with the Marshall Kilburn, simply for the fact that it's relatively easy to replace the batteries (standard 18650 cells) behind a panel that is simply screwed on, not glued or otherwise "permanently" sealed. I may not be able to service the class D amps or the Bluetooth module, but at least I can replace the batteries or the drivers if one should fail at some point.
As a drawback, it is somewhat bulkier and heavier than most other options.
OK so it was a strong choice of words, but anyone who doesn't care about the environment and waste is really shortsighted by definition. Is that 'stupid'? Maybe not. Maybe you can make an edge case and claim they are self-interested and that's OK from your philosophical stance. But I firmly believe that, in a world most intelligent people would like to live in, it is stupid.
It's a lot easier to say "buy this widget for $x a month for 48 months" (classic US example) than to say "what computer do you have? oh you don't know. why don't we arrange for me to have a look at it another day. uhuh. ok well i've taken a look and if we upgrade the graphics card, hard disk and ram we can probably get that working really nicely for you".
People just don't care. They want a result now, they want it to have a name, they want it to be marketed, they want to show it off and lord it over their proverbial neighbor.
Petty, stupid consumers are the real problem.
Fixing this situation, which has accelerated under the influence of commercial media and dwindling state education budgets in many western countries essentially must begin with education and regulation.