>if the NYSE did not exist, the world would continue to turn
This is startlingly ignorant of the complex machine that is the modern economic system. If something like the NYSE was to shut down today it would be pandemonium.
There is a difference between 'I don't understand how something works' and 'I don't understand how something works, so it is worthless'. The former is healthy and the first step to understanding, the latter is ignorant, and the first step to getting more ignorant.
I actually think both you and the guy you are arguing with are half correct.
The real answer here, in my opinion, is that yes there would be pandemonium, and then yes, the world would go on without it, but then something else just like it will pop up. And that is because a liquid market for financial assets (whether that is securities, options on securities, futures, etc) will always be a massive benefit to the ability of businesses to conduct business, and the ability of individuals to preserve and increase wealth.
This is startlingly ignorant of the complex machine that is the modern economic system. If something like the NYSE was to shut down today it would be pandemonium.
There is a difference between 'I don't understand how something works' and 'I don't understand how something works, so it is worthless'. The former is healthy and the first step to understanding, the latter is ignorant, and the first step to getting more ignorant.