But what's wrong with perpetual dividends? I think the relationship between investors and dividend-paying companies is a lot healthier than non-dividend-paying companies.

If buy 1 share of DividendCorp I can rationalize it as a stream of future dividends generated by the company's profits. I want the company to succeed in the short term and the long term.

If I buy 1 share of OtherCorp which pays no dividends I am purely speculating on the price. I don't even have to care what the company does I could just be one of those "technical analysis" people riding chart waves. I just need to pass the bag to someone else at a gain.