Do ratings make for better chess players?

What do numbers and points do to the psyche of players?

What is the psychology of ratings?

After my last blog about how Fide is irrelevant... or inadequate for the online forum... 

I began to question myself about if ratings are that important to learning chess.

How the system is set up to encourage learning or to encourage less play... or puzzling.

Much like the conundrum of Anish Giri playing pussycat chess and withdraw from tournaments to keep his rating within qualifying for the candidates... 

Are ratings... the point system in fact providing a lower quality of chess?

Has the online movement provided better chess than what would be played under a regulating body?  

What do you think?