I'd accept that answer if you added, "AND is just a giant MMORPG where the object is to grind long enough to get a house in the Hamptons". Both can be true. I think the original poster's criticism is valid.

In particular, since one of the objects is to grind long enough that the rules of the game don't apply to you, see 'Goldman Sachs', I think the original poster's criticism is valid.

There is no referee. The only goal is to give game winners more money, and if they screw up, give them their money back and then give them more money. It justifies things like investments in index funds (or identifying those who are already competing outside the rules and rewarding them by investing more money in them since they cannot fail), but it's gone well beyond the rational functioning of a system, much less a self-regulating system with useful purposes.

It's Calvinball. Go ahead and enjoy it, but it's not right.