[arcticbull]

Investment fraud is not a new paradigm. Selling bags of nothing is not a new paradigm. Goes all the way back to the South Sea Company in 1711 [1].

I recommend reading Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds published originally in 1841 [2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Popular-Delusions-Madne...

[mumblemumble]

Extraordinary Popular Conclusions is also available for free from Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24518

[vba616]

I don't see it usually mentioned when people cite the South Sea Company, but their principal actual business was the slave trade.

There is something about a useless or immoral business that often excites greed beyond what anything beneficial to society can.