Who you ask? Banksy is a UK based artist that has largely used the streets of London as his canvas. Yes, it is graffiti. But really it is so much more. His manifesto gets to the point. It is political and social satire simply executed. The process of having to create a piece of art in a handful of minutes means that the art has to be direct and to the point. Nothing is wasted or indulgent. Banksy is, I guess, reminding us about the state of things and the state of our humanity. Or he is just another opportunitist media whore and I am a sucker.

Banksy was the subject of an article in the New Yorker entitled “Banksy was here” by Lauren Collins. My favorite quote:

“Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked,” he once wrote. “Where the street was awash with a million colors and little phrases. . . . A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business.”

So the question is why am I saying be like Banksy? Well, his art is simply reminding us, if I may be so bold, to be ourselves again and to take back the world from the stories we are told by people we don’t care about. People, typically, that run crap brands that make promises like “eat me and you will be happy (but fat)” or “buy me and you will be beautiful (but poor)”. We own the world and we will think for ourselves. Bring a point of view and decide for yourself. Look around and see what is happening. Do you approve? Feels somehow like I am just waking up and feel like the one guy who wasn’t in on the joke.

Okay so I am not some lefty anarchist. In fact I am the opposite. I believe markets are an underutilized gift (clearly). I also believe certain institutions and government have a key role. But my hope is that the artificial value being extracted by incumbent businesses based on false promises - promises that most people have been brainwashed to believe in - are over. The internet is changing the way we do business and everyday people will benefit. Will you be a force of change or will you help enslave another generation of suckers?