“Not just in commerce but in the world of ideas too our age is putting on a veritable clearance sale. Everything can be had so dirt cheap that one begins to wonder whether in the end anyone will want to make a bid.”
- May 5, 1813 – November 11, 1855
- Danish
- Philosopher, Theologian, Poet, Father of Existentialism
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Quote
“Not just in commerce but in the world of ideas too our age is putting on a veritable clearance sale. Everything can be had so dirt cheap that one begins to wonder whether in the end anyone will want to make a bid.”
Explanation
In this quote, Kierkegaard criticizes the devaluation of truth and meaning in modern culture, comparing the intellectual and spiritual state of his age to a clearance sale—where everything, even the most profound ideas, is offered too easily and too cheaply. When values, convictions, or beliefs are stripped of depth, challenge, and cost, they become trivialized. The danger is not just that people misunderstand great ideas, but that they come to no longer care about them at all.
This sentiment reflects Kierkegaard’s opposition to the superficial religiosity and intellectual complacency of 19th-century Danish society. He believed that faith, ethics, and philosophy must be hard-won, involving struggle, personal risk, and existential commitment. When ideas are marketed or simplified to the point of losing their weight, people stop taking them seriously—just as a market flooded with cheap goods causes desensitization and apathy toward real value.
In our own time, saturated with clickbait, slogans, and instant commentary, the quote feels strikingly prescient. Kierkegaard warns us of a culture where everything is available, but nothing is treasured. He calls for a return to seriousness, depth, and inward engagement, where ideas are not merely consumed but lived and owned, even when that means paying the price of discomfort, doubt, or sacrifice. True meaning, he insists, is never free—and that’s what makes it worth pursuing.
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