Diamonds are Forever

The other day I had a weird idea for a reputation market (that’s right, a reputation market!) and ever since, I’ve been exploring how value is created and expressed in a capitalist society. My investigations have led me, of course, to that quintessential example of wealth-creation, the scam. Nothing that I’ve read on the subject (not even the Million Dollar homepage :) has impressed me more than this long, old, but fascinating article: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?