Respond to my classmates post:

Playing the stock market is like gambling. Such speculative investing has no social value, other than the pleasure people get from this form of gambling.

Gambling is a zero-sum game where ones win is dependent on anothers loss. A zero sum game can have anywhere from 2 players as in chess or ping pong up to millions of players as we see in the lottery or casinos. Gambling is never a win/ win or lose/lose situation because one mans/womens lose is anothers win.

In terms of the stock market, one invests in it they dont play in it and this is inherently different than gambling. Shares of a company are more than just a trading venue, they actually represent ownership in the company in which the holder is entitled to a claim on the assets as well as a portion (however small) of the profits.

In the article The Five Biggest Stock market Myths Investopedia.com sums up the difference between gambling and investing in the stock market by first stating that with gambling, no value is created, it simply is the act of taking money from a loser and giving it to a winner. In contrast, investing in the stock market increases the overall wealth of the economy. When we invest in a company we are investing in the future growth of that industry as well as making opportunities for employment for those that work for the firm.

The Five Biggest Stock Market Myths http://www.investopedia.com/articles/02/061902.asp#ixzz3lqVhy1w7