[bigbadfeline]

>> something is valuable because some people think other people will pay more for it in the future, and not because it does useful things > This has been the definition of finance for hundreds of years. I don't know why it comes across here like this is a new phenomenon.

I don't think so. However, you can convince me by providing a reference to that definition in a textbook used by top schools, I'm honestly curious to see something like this.