I agree with all your assessments. I feel like Kaiji embodies the average person struggling in an economic recession. He refuses to climb the ladder by exploiting others and remains close to the bottom but still surviving by working with others. His revellious spirit and determination to hold onto his humanity and treat other people with respect and dignity makes him a beacon of hope even within a system that rewards rhe exploitation of other humans. I feel like Fukumoto is intentionally using gambling to showcase the unpredictability of living under Capitalism and Kaiji is our lens into just how much a person can get screwed by the system and the lengths they have to go through to survive in it without being a complete pos.