Shorting is legitimate—under certain conditions. In many markets throughout history, shorting has been explicitly forbidden. This is because it encourages destr

Shorting is legitimate—under certain conditions. In many markets throughout history, shorting has been explicitly forbidden. This is because it encourages destroying value. It's much much easier to destroy a company's value than to raise it. So anyone holding a short on a company has every incentive to disrupt its operation. This is in contrast with the traditional position, where you hold stock in a competing company. Then you have only a very minor incentive to disrupt your competitors, because it translates in small gains for your own stock. Only when companies are neck-to-neck does it become profitable, but then any sabotage is scrutinised much more closely.