Socially useless production

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About
Socially useless production refers to the production of goods and services which are not of general ("social") benefit, such as:
 * ‘status’ goods like diamonds, expensive cars, other luxuries
 * "arms race" goods such as brand-specific advertising, personal credit used as a competitive edge in purchasing real estate

Such production may result in artificial scarcity of socially useful (i.e. truly necessary) goods because a significant part of society’s resources are being diverted to the production of these (unnecessary) goods.

For example, capitalism has led to:
 * the growth of consumer lending, enabling people to buy things which they can't really afford, with long-term debt and even bankruptcy as a common side-effect
 * remedial measures, such as trade unions and regulatory agencies, to deal with the social problems created by capitalism
 * coercive activities to protect or promote the interests of capital (from weapons research to security firms).

Related

 * Socially useless production contributes to the creation of artificial scarcity.