[phpisthebest]

>>As well as discourages intentionally messing up within the company and profiting from short selling

While I do not agree with the OP on insider trading being good.... I also think short selling is a net negative and should be banned right along side insider trading

[scrlk]

> I also think short selling is a net negative and should be banned

Why? The potential losses for shorting are infinite whereas the profit is capped, so entering a short requires high conviction. Stock markets are also a market for information: banning short selling takes away a large amount of information and has negative impacts on price discovery, liquidity etc.

[Nursie]

Why?

If you think a stock is underpriced, you can buy it and bet your knowledge is superior to the general market’s.

Shorting is just the logical reverse, and aids price discovery in the opposite direction.

[auc]

> I also think short selling is a net negative and should be banned right along side insider trading

How would you incentivize people to find fraudulent companies like Enron?