Let's compare business to football.
Some people become experts in training, coaching and playing football. Others manage teams and learn how to spot talent and work with dynamics between players to create winning combinations. They're trying to raise the bar and increase the level of competition within the game.
Then there is a class of people who don't really add anything to the game, but they want to profit off of it. These are the gamblers.
High frequency traders are like meta-meta-football players. They try to profit off transactions between the gamblers.
Frankly, I don't know how they can look at themselves in the mirror. I wish they would put their minds to good use and actually solve real problems instead of meta ones.