Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? A History of Exploitation

An old but wonderfully insightful article about the scam of diamonds.

The diamond invention—the creation of the idea that diamonds are rare and valuable, and are essential signs of esteem—is a relatively recent development in the history of the diamond trade. Until the late nineteenth century, diamonds were found only in a few riverbeds in India and in the jungles of Brazil, and the entire world production of gem diamonds amounted to a few pounds a year. In 1870, however, huge diamond mines were discovered near the Orange River, in South Africa, where diamonds were soon being scooped out by the ton. Suddenly, the market was deluged with diamonds. The British financiers who had organized the South African mines quickly realized that their investment was endangered; diamonds had little intrinsic value—and their price depended almost entirely on their scarcity. The financiers feared that when new mines were developed in South Africa, diamonds would become at best only semiprecious gems.

via Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? – Edward Jay Epstein – The Atlantic.

Plagiarism and Citing Works

All submitted papers that references other published work needs to cite that work. Presenting public works as your own is plagiarism. While emulation may be the most sincere form of flattery, it is improper not to give credit where credit is due. There are many resources that show how to cite various source formats. The ITT Virtual Library is another good source.

Assignment W7 – Patents: Pros and Cons

I have uploaded a template that can be used to think about assignment W7: Assignment W7 – Patents: Pros and Cons

Proportional versus Progressive Taxation Homework Template

Please note that the template to this assignment is here.

Proportional versus Progressive Taxation Template

The Proportional versus Progressive Taxation Template for assignment W3 is available.