climbing ladders

we hear it everywhere... we need to climb the ladder, make it to the next rung in life, work your way up and more... what exactly is at the top? honestly... a ceiling? then what? do you go back down? hang out until someone below you throws you off? i just don't get it.
there are many things i won't ever get... renaissance festivals, hot air balloons and competition.
i was driving to work today and was watching some men doing some gardening, mowing the lawn, etc. for some reason people look at those who serve in professions such as the aforementioned, food service, retail, etc and create some sort of pity for these people. you know, why on earth does that happen? my life is worth no more and no less than that of the next person. why are we always trying to determine if the person next to us has more value or not? i am sure the highest paid basketball player gets paid tens of millions more than the least paid one, why? one has more skill that another has determined more valuable than another...
so this brings me back to my inital thought... why are we encouraged to climb this so-called social ladder? i can understand in the workplace to earn more, i guess, but shouldn't the emphasis be based on more than 'what can i do for myself today?' you don't want to make it to the top to only have people who hate you climbing up behind you with a vengance...
do you think the ladder just comes from the insecurities we have embedded in us since birth? donald miller says it best... what if aliens came to our planet and saw the competition we have rooted in us everywhere? i think they would think we were strange... no i am not a communist and i do believe hard work should pay off, but should hard work make one burn bridges? i don't think so.
climb the ladder all you want, i am doing so in my life BUT don't kick people off, step on hands or cut the rungs below you to 'win' in life, cause when you get to the top the ladder might not be sturdy enough to hold you up there...