The assumption must be that those who can see value only in tradition, or versions of it, deny man's ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
Taste is more to do with manners than appearances. Taste is both myth and reality; it is not a style.
In an age robbed of religious symbols, going to the shops replaces going to the church. We have a free choice, but at a price. We can win experience, but never achieve innocence. Marx knew that the epic activities of the modern world involve not lance and sword but dry goods.