I believe that these approaches to technology stem from having too little competition in any given space. Companies can only sell products with unpopular features when a) the product remains necessary and b) there are no real alternatives which don’t also have the anti-feature (or, the anti-feature is not seen as enough to deter against buying the thing).

It’s not just tractors: feels like every piece of tech now has a bunch of shit you don’t want (and even some that harms you), all in a disposable, unrepairable package that costs more than older tech. That older product was often just as good if not better than the newer one.