> resources can be massively misallocated just because some small class of individuals THINK or HOPE it will result in massive returns

That's basically what the rich usually do. They command disproportionate amount of resources and misallocate them freely on a whim, outside of any democratic scrutiny, squeezing incredible number of people and small buisness out of something.

Whether that's a strength of the system or the weakness, I'm sure some rearch will show.