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Chris, read my link under "Differences Between Ponzi and Pyramid Schemes"

Um - I did read your link! If there is a difference, it seems very subtle.

chris, seems to me you could even run a Ponzi scheme with a single investor. For instance:

Take in $1 million, pay the investor back lump sums of $100,000 after 12 months , $110,000 after 24 months, and $121,000 after 36 months. Tell him that he's been earning 10% annually on his investment. Then abscond with the remaining $669,000.

[Granted, this is mathematically not much different than skipping on an unsecured loan].

While in a pyramid scheme, the entire sales pitch to "investors" depends on a hoped-for exponentially increasing number of suckers.

My understanding of a Ponzi scheme is that it relied upon new investors to pay off older investors. It featured in the very satisfactory final episode of the "Glass Library" serial!

Geeker, thanks for the #89 links. uBlock has blocked them because of the re-direct, but gives me the option of overring the block. I will check them out later.

Last try:

In a Ponzi scheme, the victims can be passive investors - I give my money to Bernie Madoff, and need do nothing else as the (illusory) returns roll in. It's not my job to find new investors for his fund.

In a pyramid scheme I only get paid if I recruit new members to the scheme, so I must be an active participant. I paid the guy who recruited me, so to make a return on that, I need to recruit people who will pay me to join (and of course I turn some of that over to my recruiter, which is why it's good to be high up in the pyramid).

If this is clear we can next turn to the distinction between epistemology and metaphysics.

Understood, buddy

What's the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?

Popeye never said "I sweet potato what I sweet potato."