Tomáš Březina—known as the “Concrete King,” a man who built an empire of construction materials and now prepares to enter politics—has been releasing episodes of his podcast. The latest is devoted to construction itself. In it, he reminds us of an ancient truth: from the dawn of human history, every civilizational ascent has been marked by great works of building. Defensive walls stretching for hundreds of kilometers, vast irrigation systems, networks of roads and bridges, temples and tombs—one can hardly imagine a great civilization without great structures.
This continuity carried into the twentieth century: the dams on the Vltava, the mighty Nusle Bridge, and the construction of a million apartments. Today, we gaze with awe at China’s breathtaking bridges, railway stations, libraries, and the expansion of its high-speed rail. These are not mere utilities; they are testimonies to the condition of a society.
Březina recalls that in 1990, in the very first wave of reforms, the Ministry of Construction was abolished. No one intended to precipitate civilizational decline; it simply seemed, almost by reflex, to be unnecessary. What followed were one or two decades in which we believed that progress could be measured in the number of electronic financial transactions. Only now are we sobering from that delusion.
As for the “Concrete King” himself, I attach great hopes to his political venture. He belongs neither to the weary mainstream nor to the shrill alternative—both of which, in my judgment, suffer from the same symptoms of decay. His combination of sobriety, determination, character, and financial strength is rare indeed. May his political project prosper.