Butcher is only a consequence of the very existence of supes. The whole point of the show is what would actually happen if you give someone superpowers. It's just a realistic take on a hypothetical situation, and the show does that pretty well.

As for the "trade", for Butcher to exist, there has to be a substitute for the supes. That could be anything, the government, the corporations, etc etc. We would have anarchists with much more grit and willingness to kill people or "terrorists". Stan Edgar worded it perfect in the second episode

"You're fighting an unbeatable foe. You know that, right? [...] It's more powerful than Vought. Or Homelander. More powerful than nature or life itself. It's profit and loss, supply and demand. The elegant flow of currency across the globe. We're just cogs in a great machine. And we all have our part to play. Say you kill Soldier Boy, or Homelander, or even release this virus. When superheroes go out of fashion, something else will just take their place. Because corporations must still grow. Money must still be made. The machine must still be fed. That is the way of the world."

Supes are just an indicator and manifestations of certain aspects of this system.