[andrepd]

Why do Michelin star restaurants cost so much when there's hungry children in developed countries? Why does finance and adtech pay so much when there's a shortage of teachers? Why is so much engineering effort and materials spent on luxury goods when infrastructure is crumbling? Why are five star hotels so expensive when there's a shortage of care workers for old people?

The answer to all these questions is the same.

[Etheryte]

This is downright silly and wrong. Diamonds are not expensive because they're a cut above other gems, they're literally only expensive because of a monopoly that upholds artificial scarcity. Michelin star restaurants are expensive because they do culinary arts on the highest level. Diamonds are expensive only because one family owns all the mines.

[BoingBoomTschak]

You forget the other side of the equation: very rich people or "suckers" are ready to pay that much for it.

[dialup_sounds]

De Beers hasn't had a monopoly in decades and is no longer majority owned by one family.

[postalrat]

This isn't an ordinary diamond.

[ErigmolCt]

A product of market control

[feoren]

> The answer to all these questions is the same.

Only if that answer is "the world is incredibly complicated and each individual situation is laden with its own history, nuance, and complications." Because otherwise: no, the answer to all those questions is very different, because the world is incredibly complicated and each individual situation is laden with its own history, nuance, and complications. It's reasonable to ask about what those particular nuances are for a given situation without being brushed off like this.