At one time, the state of culture in Czechoslovakia was described, rather poignantly, as a 'Biafra of the spirit'. . . I simply do not believe that w… - Václav Havel

"Či nespojili se snad „známí disidenti“ v Chartě 77 poté, co je spojila solidarita s neznámými hudebníky, nespojili se v ní snad s nimi a nestali se snad právě skrze to oněmi „známými "disidenty"? Je to věru krutý paradox, že čím víc se někteří občané zastávají jiných občanů, tím častěji jsou označováni slovem, které je od těchto „jiných občanů“ odděluje! Uvozovky, do nichž v celé této úvaze důsledně slovo „disident“ kladu, dostávají, doufám, touto explikací jasný smysl."

An amalgamation of cultures is taking place. I see it as proof that something is happening, something is being born, that we are in a phase when one age is succeeding another, when everything is possible. Yes, everything is possible, because our civilization does not have its own unified style, its own spirit, its own aesthetic.

It would appear that the traditional parliamentary democracies can offer no fundamental opposition to the automatism of technological civilization and the industrial consumer society, for they, too, are being dragged helplessly along by it. People are manipulated in ways that are infinitely more subtle and refined than the brutal methods used in the post-totalitarian societies.