I have been reflecting on why there is often societal resentment toward the legal and financial professions, despite their high salaries.

I believe this stems from the fact that both professions operate within “virtual systems”, i.e. frameworks entirely constructed by humans rather than dictated by natural or physical laws. Unlike the sciences, these systems could have been designed in entirely different ways, which is why legal structures vary so significantly across international borders.

Because these fields follow internal logic rather than the laws of physics, they are often dismissed as unnecessary or unproductive. However, these virtual systems have a profound impact on the physical world, determining everything from where factories are built to how natural resources are protected and how individuals live their lives.

While science fiction often explores the trope of people living in virtual worlds, I would argue that our current reality is already more virtual than we realize, with law and finance serving as primary examples of these human-made sub-systems.