It seems that the time has come when everything is bought and sold. We have turned life into a universal supermarket. Probably, the day is coming when we will know the price of everything but forget its value, especially human values. Rarely, if ever, do we hear about respect, care, trust in others, gratitude, empathy, sacrifice, love, and other human values in the media, on social networks, or even in daily conversations.
Victor Hugo foresaw this danger two centuries ago, which is why he advised the parents of his time:
Do not educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be happy, so they know the value of things, not the price.
The market determines the price, but life determines the value. Immersed in our loneliness and drugged by virtual life, we now know the price of everything but fail to recognize true human values. This is why we live less and less, even though physical life expectancy increases with each passing decade.