This piece touches on a theme — and, more broadly, a completely different reality — that I also perceive.
When one moves through Western Europe — say, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France or Belgium — it quickly becomes clear that people there approach things differently. They have a stronger sense of real value. Because of it, I also like Christmas days in Western Europe.
And I don’t mean money, but the meaning that stands behind things. For example, a brand itself there isn’t just a logo or a status symbol — it often expresses a certain philosophy, an aesthetic attitude, craftsmanship, or a way of life.
In Czechia, it works differently. The value of things is often measured only by their price. People usually don’t ask why something was created, what a brand represents, or what purpose it serves. What matters is that it’s cheap, practical, and “normal.” Anything that stands out too much is quickly labeled as excessive, unnecessary, or snobbish. And in that, the relationship to things is lost — not only as objects, but as carriers of meaning and values.
This mindset has certain its roots. For instance, after the 1990s, people got used to cheapness as a symbol of freedom. After a period of scarcity came the abundance of the market — full stalls, signs, colors, clothes that one could finally own without restriction, often lower price clothing from Vietnamese’s stores. And so, in Czech society, accessibility became the main value. Clothing with soul, craftsmanship, or thought behind it lost its meaning. What mattered was to have, not to understand.
Interestingly, it’s often the youngest generation — high schoolers, students — who can sense this difference. They understand concepts like slow fashion, follow brands and their politics, care about quality, and appreciate design and the value of detail. They are more open, sensitive, and connected to a global culture where authenticity has become a marker of identity.
But after school, this awareness usually fades quickly. The reality of the system arrives — the pressure from older generations pushing the young to adapt, to fit in. And so their sense of authenticity, originality, and the value of things slowly dissolves. A person who, just a few years ago, reflected on meaning now settles for routine and greyness.
This extends into culture and politics as well. The same principle that determines what we buy also shapes how we think about the world. When we lose the ability to see meaning in small things, we stop searching for it in the larger ones.
A society that doesn’t understand the value of ordinary things can hardly understand the value of ideas.
