"Conversation, Commerce. People had lost sight of which was more important. The first commercial exchanges served the purpose of starting a conversation, and now conversation only served the purpose of continuing commerce. When commerce was no longer necessary, it was easy to forget about conversation. The isolation of languages was the result of collusion; it brought profit, engendered hatred, gave birth to manufactured identities, and above all generated the desire to buy, buy, buy. Conversation was dying, but commerce became ever more vibrant." from Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang
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