There is an element always missing in the websites & discussions of this nature and I've now pinpointed it - and this element explains why guys like blackrock and simon482 seem entirely oblivious to the Ladder Theory and see it as some sort of abstract attack on women. At the most fundamental level, the Ladder Theory basically applies to most people but to extremely different degrees, such that it really doesn't impact most people in any significant way. Here's why: most people are poor and/or unattractive, so most guys are never in the race for the hot girl to begin with and it's the hot girls behavior - these are the girl's that are in high demand - where you will observe the Ladder Theory to the fullest.
Poor unattractive people want power, wealth, and attractive mates just like everybody else but since the day they're born, life experience has told them that they're not among the chosen few. Most poor unattractive people become contented with this, and relegate themselves to dating and marrying other poor unattractive people. Therefore the Ladder Theory has less impact on their lives. Of course, they would jump at the opportunity for better if it was offered, but it never is, so they stick with their unattractive partners and fantasize about something better. This takes the form of celeb idol worship - watching movies, buying mags, and watching events hosted by pretty people.
For the select few among the above average or 'attractive elite', the Ladder Theory has a huge impact. Its existence is undeniable. If you've been in the rat race for prime pussy (at least what this society has deemed 'beautiful'), you've seen the Ladder Theory at work every day, for your whole life. Girls at the top of the food chain do select men based on money/power/status first, looks/attraction second, and they do bullshit about caring about anything else - a man's sense of humor, intelligence, generosity. If you're a guy with eccentric tastes in women - for example you prefer large girls to the slim figures showcased everywhere as a symbol of beauty, you are largely immune to and sometimes even be oblivious to the Ladder Theory. It doesn't exist in your world because the type of girls that you're attracted to are in abundance and will fuck your brains out without you having to fulfill the money/status/power that the Ladder Theory dictates for attracting your mate. Consider yourself very lucky. I wish that I liked girls that DON'T look like models or the modern Western version of beauty. It would make life much easier and less expensive, because it's so much less competitive. Still, I prefer spinners to the Pam Anderson fake buxom blonde type that most men seem so enamored by, so I've probably saved a ton of cash and heartache since I've never spent a dime chasing those types of women and those women appear to be the creme de la creme as far as society is concerned.
There is nothing wrong with the Ladder Theory and girls that play to it. It's not a question of right/wrong or good/bad. It's natural and makes logical sense. If you have something that most people want (ie. beauty), you get to pick and choose mates using criteria that will benefit you most. For hot girls, that means selecting a guy with money and power because money makes life good and easy.
