The Absurd Paradox of Personality and Power

In this strange theatre we call society, we find ourselves drawn to characters who embody what we cannot express ourselves. The trending stories reveal not just news, but our collective consciousness wrestling with questions of authenticity and performance.

Consider the case of Jalen Hurts and Bry Burrows—a moment of tenderness amid the brutality of professional sport. What does it tell us that we hunger for these glimpses behind the facade? The professional athlete, that modern Sisyphus, condemned to push his body to its limits for our entertainment, suddenly reveals himself as capable of love. And we are fascinated.

Meanwhile, the bizarre spectacle of SummerSlam presents us with choreographed conflict—Cody Rhodes and John Cena locked in their predetermined battle, while Brock Lesnar makes his theatrical return. Here, the economy of attention is nakedly displayed: heroes and villains manufactured to capture our gaze, to extract value from our willingness to believe in the unbelievable.

The Economic Absurdity of Our Attention

There is something profoundly revealing in our financial markets’ resemblance to these wrestling matches. The valorization of personalities like Elon Musk or Jamie Dimon mirrors our fascination with Rhodes or Lesnar. We have created a financial system that depends not on rational economic principles but on the charisma of individuals who perform economic confidence.

The markets rise and fall on tweets and televised appearances just as WWE stock fluctuates based on the popularity of its performers. Is this not absurd? That billions in wealth can evaporate because a central banker appears uncertain at a press conference? That cities transform their economies to attract the businesses of celebrity entrepreneurs?

Mary Burrows’ obituary reminds us of what matters beyond these economic performances—the authentic connections between people, the warmth of genuine human experience. Yet even in death, we commodify these stories, turning grief into content for consumption.

The Revolt Against Authenticity

Bill Burr’s critique of political commentators as “cowards” highlights our modern dilemma. We recognize the performance but continue to participate. We know the news networks serve corporate interests rather than truth, yet we watch. We understand politicians perform rather than govern, yet we vote.

The absurd hero, as I once wrote, acknowledges the meaninglessness of his task but proceeds nonetheless. Is this not the position of the modern citizen? We know the system is broken, that our economic structures serve the few rather than the many, that our attention is being harvested and sold—yet we proceed.

”One must imagine Sisyphus happy,” I famously concluded. But can we imagine the modern consumer happy? The modern investor? The modern citizen? Perhaps only when we fully confront the absurdity of our economic systems can we begin to forge authentic alternatives.

The Economic Prophecy Hidden in Our Obsessions

These trends suggest coming economic transformations. The fascination with wrestling’s theatrical conflicts suggests markets increasingly divorced from underlying realities, where perception matters more than production. The Burrows story—both the celebration of athletic partnership and the mourning of a life well-lived—indicates a possible return to valuing authentic connection over conspicuous consumption.

Burr’s condemnation of media “cowards” hints at a coming reckoning for information markets that have prioritized engagement over enlightenment. When trust collapses in information systems, economic systems follow—for markets function on shared stories about value.

In Austin and similar cities experiencing explosive growth, we see this tension embodied geographically—the authentic local culture that attracted investment now threatened by that very investment. The absurdity is complete: we destroy what we value by valuing it.

Perhaps the true rebellion, the genuine revolt against absurdity, lies in reclaiming our attention. To consciously choose what we celebrate, who we mourn, what conflicts deserve our engagement—this is the economic rebellion of our time. For attention, not money, has become our scarcest resource.

In the face of the absurd economy we have built, we must create meaning through our choices. As these trending stories suggest, we hunger for authenticity even as we participate in its commodification. The hero of our economic age will be neither wrestler nor commentator, but the citizen who confronts this paradox directly and chooses to live differently despite it.

”There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” Perhaps our economic future depends not on policy but on this profound act of rejection—the capacity to scorn the absurd performance while creating authentic alternatives.