AI, Veblen Goods, and M&A Fees

This essay is a neat reminder that commoditization does not flatten every market the same way, sometimes it just makes the top tier more exclusive rather than less. It reframes the AI disruption narrative for professional services, where the fear has been pure price collapse, into something closer to a luxury goods story. The obvious follow up question is which other prestige industries, consulting, elite law, quietly benefit the same way while everyone assumes AI is eating their lunch.