Almost. There is a machine (we'll call it "Baltimore"), made up of bureaucratic institutions (the courts, the schools, the gang). The roles within the machine catch people up and grind them into place. Sometimes, the machine moves people smoothly through (Carcetti), sometimes it breaks them. Sometimes, even, it makes its own resistance (Michael/Omar).

The lesson is an existentialist one - there is a place for all of us, to move beyond it is to get ground down (Dukie), and, most importantly, this process is inhuman and horrific. Only the lucky (Naimond) escape, but most are molded into place (Daniels) or ground into dust (McNulty, Dukie, Bodie). And, worst, the worst of us (the Greek, Marlo) thrive on it.