When You're Living in an Immaterial World, What's for Sale?

On influencers, symbolic analysts, and buying and selling in the age of turbo-capitalism.

I LIKE A get-rich-quick scheme—what American doesn’t?—and not too long ago I alighted on drop-shipping. The idea came up like this: Plastic straws were in the moral firing line, and if they were banned, I figured Americans would soon need another way to slurp our iced coffees.

Twenty metal straws could be found on Amazon for $10, and I calculated I could…