Hedge Funds are not all about short selling. Hedge Fund Managers use a variety of trading styles to achieve returns for their investors of which short selling is just one. The objective of most Hedge Fund Managers is to achieve an investment return that is better than cash & bonds but without the downside risks of holding the actual equities themselves.
Hedge Fund Managers are used by major Pension Schemes at part of the diversification of investment strategy in the same way as property, gilts etc.
Whilst their are undoubtedly some Hedge Fund Managers that have concentrated their efforts on short selling we must be careful not to say that the existence of hedge funds is the sole cause of the current woes.
Alun