John Frederick Walker

Rebecca J. Rosen, an associate editor of The Atlantic, has posted a thoughtful, analytic piece on elephant poaching that goes beyond outrage to ask the key question:  what’s behind the desire for ivory?

She concludes:

“The power of the idea of ivory is immense, and shows no signs of waning…perhaps the only hope is that the price will go up and up, through greater regulation and greater monitoring, putting ivory once again out of reach for even the middle class. The irony of this is…make ivory even rarer, even more reserved for only the very few, and esteem for it will only rise.”