Scam Psychology: Theory on Stupidity, Scam, ponzi, and pyramid schemes

Ever heard of Professor Cipolla's theory on stupidity? Neither have I until recently, but it explains quite clearly how the world works, esp. scams.

According to professor Cipolla, you can measure a person by 2 axis: benefit derived from their own actions... and benefit to others because of their own actions

It roughly goes like this:

Cipolla's theory on stupidity, summarized

A scam mastermind cares not for mutual gain, and strictly belongs in the Bandit quadrant, though s/he will present him/herself as being in the I quadrant.

Scammers falsely portray the victims are in the U quadrant ("you're just making your boss rich") when in fact, the victims are actually slightly positive on the X-axis (they are earning a salary) and thus already in the I quadrant and purport to teach them to migrate over to the I quadrant ("be your own boss"), but in reality, moved them into S or B quadrant.

A ponzi scheme participant believes s/he is in the I quadrant, but in reality, they're in the B quadrant (if they are a "net winner), or S quadrant (if they are a net loser).  Similarly, pyramid scheme participants start with a loss in S quadrant. Depending on how fast they recruit, they may move into quadrant B, but they delude themselves into thinking they're in quadrant I.

FACTOID: some victims in pyramid schemes, upon learning they're in such a scheme, actually INTENSIFY their recruiting efforts, in order to recoup their losses, thus making themselves willfully criminal, rather than admit to their stupidity.

Which brings us to judas goats, where most people in pyramid schemes are. Judas goats are goats used to lead sheep around. In terms of a scam, judas goats are "leaders" who recruit victims for the masterminds, and may or may not benefit from the recruitment. They often honestly think they are doing their victims a favor by introducing them to such "great opportunity", but in reality dragged them all into being victims.  So they lost money, and caused a lot of other people to lose money as well, and thus belongs SOLIDLY in the S quadrant.

The problem is what will the people in the S quadrant do next time? Will they learn "the only way to win is not to play" or will they aspire to start in B qudrant by cloning the master-bandits they are exposed to, as well as their deceptive speech?

In the future, we'll discuss the subtypes of people on this graph, about perception and reality.