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Showing posts from September, 2014

...a culture that views the prizing of efficiency as almost vulgar.

Truths of a French Village NY Times http://nyti.ms/1yosFSU By Roger Cohen A few weeks ago I was in France, where I’ve owned a village house for almost 20 years that I am now planning to sell. A real estate agent had taken a look at the property and we had made an appointment to discuss how to proceed. She swept into the kitchen, a bundle of energy and conviction, with an impassioned appeal: “Monsieur Cohen, whatever you do, you must on no account sell this house!” I gazed at her, a little incredulous. “You cannot sell it. This is a family home. You know it the moment you step in. You sense it in the walls. You breathe it in every room. You feel it in your bones. This is a house you must keep for your children. I will help you sell it if you insist, but my advice is not to sell. You would be making a mistake.” This was, shall we say, a cultural moment, one of those times when a door opens and you gaze, if not into the soul of a country, at least into territory that

Culture as a National Trait

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September 17, 2014 Why Germans Pay Cash for Almost Everything Matt Phillips , Quartz The Associated Press As banks, technology giants and would-be disruptors such as Square scrummage over the payment system of the future, German consumers seem perfectly happy with the payment system of the past. Germany remains one of the most cash-intensive advanced economies on earth. Read Full Article ››