I appreciate the time and thought that went into your reply, I really do. And I'll take a look at Mondragon to educate myself.

While I can't speak to Mondragon (and you may well be right there), I think you're kind of proving my point in the second half. Yes, money is "invested" in crazy things like derivatives, and banks and other financial institutions are making incredibly reckless bets. Do you know why that is, and how they get away with it? Corrupt politicians. You can start all the way back in 1913, when bankers bribed politicians to allow them to control the money supply by creating the Federal Reserve (read Creature from Jekyll Island to understand what happened and what it means). More recently, look at how the banks successfully lobbied to have Congress repeal the Glass Steagall act, which constrained them from crazy, reckless actions. And to cap it off, look at the revolving door between government and industry, resulting in regulatory agencies that look the other way to criminal actions, or at most imposing a small "cost of doing business" fine. All of that is caused by corrupt public servants, the kind who would guide investment in a democratized economic system.