Really, because it seems society is constructed around mitigating liability for the people at the helm while passing blame down the cargo nets to the poop deck.

Maybe a literal ship captain is responsible for his ship, but what about the owners of the shipping company? I'll pop the champagne the day they're held accountable for their reckless profit-gouging policies.

To be clear, that applies to shareholders and executives of any major corporation, not just maritime shipping.

On the smaller scope, I'd agree in theory that accountability should be about responsibility rather than mere fault, but we live in a backwards world. Our entire justice system is designed around assigning fault and administering retributive punishments.

A more just system would find who is at fault only as a means to identify who is culpable and to what degree, and the corrective actions would be assigned proportionally, with the primary aim being restorative or reparative justice. Sometimes punishment and/or confinement may be necessary, but it shouldn't be the modus operandi of the entire justice system, nor the default course of action.

Especially when you consider how blame is doled out in society; it tends to roll down the social hierarchy until it lands on the lowest possible candidate who can't manage to shift it onto a subordinate.

They say the leadership assumes the risk/responsibility. They also say wealth trickles down. They say a lot of stuff that's utter bullshit, just to justify their own positions.