Common Reading 2022: This Stack of 42 Broken PlayStation 4 Consoles Is Exactly Why We Need Right-to-Repair Laws by Caroline Delbert

Think back to the last time you broke an electronic device. It could be a phone, computer, game console, or television. What did you do with it? If you were lucky, you got it repaired, but most likely, it sits somewhere in your closet or a landfill. In some Western countries, estimates show that over fifty percent of the population owns a broken device that could be repaired. How did we get to the point where we discard electronics rather than fixing them? To understand this, you need to look at the broader discourses surrounding the "right to repair.” 

For those outside the United States, the concept of a right to repair can seem absurd. In many places, the right to repair is assumed and embedded into the culture. For instance, in India, jugaad, the innovative “hacks” used to make broken machinery function, are common. Likewise, designer and architect Ernesto Oroza finds in Cuba a “culture of necessity” where participants resist bureaucratic intervention by utilizing devices in unorthodox ways. While such practices were once common in the United States, manufacturers of farm equipment, medical devices, automobiles, and electronics throughout the twentieth century have growingly restricted consumer access to diagnostic manuals and spare parts, arguing that unauthorized repair can cause harm. These restrictions have allowed producers to form repair monopolies that have eradicated small independent repair shops and cluttered landfills with fixable items. 

This article, and its accompanying video of “broken” PlayStation 4s stacked on top of one another, provide a reminder of the impact these changes have had on our society by detailing the major developments in right-to-repair legislation and their importance for different communities. Do manufacturers have the right to restrict repairs? Are they telling the truth when they say that they are protecting consumers from harming themselves during repairs? Should the federal government be involved in creating a right to repair? Ponder these questions as you read through the article.