The Outrage Economy Wants You Broke and Angry
Here’s Why That’s a Trap
Victimhood, outrage, and other emotional levers have become the norm in online communication. If you spend any time on social media, you’ve seen it. Anger gets the most engagement. It’s everywhere: politics, the workplace, internet culture. I see it every day because my job exists in this space.
I’ve built a career speaking up about what I hate. Corporate America’s exploitation and the lies it sells as a career path. And for that, I am forever grateful to you all.
But today, I want to talk about something just as important. Because it is extremely lucrative and convenient for institutions to keep you angry.
Outrage is a Business Model
I came across an article called The Outrage Economy by Simon Terry, written in August 2020. It perfectly explains what we’ve all seen play out. Social media algorithms and news cycles thrive on emotional extremes.
Why? Because anger, fear, and controversy keep you scrolling, which keeps you consuming.
And before you say, “But we should be mad about these things,” I agree. But outrage without action is just free labor for the platforms making money off your emotions.
The Eat the Rich Problem
I hear a lot of “If we just had more unions,” “Eat the Rich,” pro-communism discourse. I respect the activism, and I’ve found my own way to conceptualize these things.
But here’s the problem. Real change takes resources.
I can’t have two dollars in my bank account and also create real impact.
If I’m constantly in survival mode, I can’t strategize.
If I’m waiting for an external event to allow me to take control, then I’m still giving power to external forces.
Yes, we live under corruption and monopolies. No, this is not free-market capitalism. It’s a rigged game. But the best move in a rigged game is to learn the rules and leverage them for yourself (EVEN THOUGH IT’S REALLY HARD).
I figured out how to make money, and here’s what I learned. It’s requires a lot of focus and sacrifice. And a lot of ofter-painful, personal reflection on my self-limiting beliefs.
And once you have it? You can do whatever you want. You can fund movements. You can build alternatives. You can actually create change instead of just getting angry about the problem.
But there are so many guilt-traps in this thinking that are keeping us down.
More Regulation Won’t Fix this, and That’s a Paradox
If I hate the system so much, how could adding more regulation be the solution? That’s a paradox. But that doesn’t mean it’s inherently wrong. It just means no single ideology has all the answers.
When I actually study different economic systems, I realize every argument is incomplete. But the people who benefit most from the outrage economy don’t want us thinking in nuance.
Yes, billionaires are insane; but commenting about how insane they are only keep them relevant and distracts us from our goals.
They want you stuck in cycles of emotional reactivity because calm, happy, and financially stable people aren’t as easy to control.
Any ideology that claims to have all the answers is a cult. Cults thrive on offering simple solutions to complex problems.
I know this firsthand as I’ve been in one before (more on that in my upcoming book). People assume cults only attract the weak or isolated. That’s a myth. The reality is that a charismatic leader simply presents the cult as the perfect fix for whatever struggle someone is facing at that moment.
I have deep compassion for those trapped in rigid belief systems.
Real freedom comes from the courage to be wrong, the bravery to change your mind, and the willingness to engage with people you disagree with.
The Real Rebellion is Financial and Mental Freedom.
It’s shameful to go against the norm and say, “Hey, I don’t want to be miserable and broke forever.” But why? Who benefits from that mindset?
The most rebellious thing you can do is stop feeding the outrage machine and start building your own life.
Being angry online doesn’t change the world, even when it’s really hard not to be mad.
Making money and using it wisely does.
Being miserable isn’t a personality.
Financial independence is the ultimate freedom.
They want you mad because mad people don’t build. But happy, successful people? They’re too busy living.
Once when I realized this, I changed my entire life.
I firmly believe there’s no system, party, boss, ideology coming to save me. All I can control is doing my best with what is in my control every day: my beliefs, my goals, my effort, etc…
The Best Revenge is Living Well
Want to actually challenge the system? Get out of survival mode. Build wealth, build autonomy, and don’t let the outrage economy steal your focus.
They can’t cancel financial independence. Autonomy. Etc…
And that’s why they don’t want you to have it.
If you’re like “okay but how do I do this?” Let’s talk about it together in the chat!
Did I Trigger You?
Let’s talk about it in the comments then!
The only one thing I don’t hold space for is privilege policing. Being mindful of each others’ privilege is totally cool and respectable.
But automatically assuming something about me or someone else in this space because of skin color, social status, age, etc… is not inclusive, logical, nor compassionate.