If you have no goal, your decisions are meaningless. For it to matter, for the game to be meaningful, you need something to strive toward. You need goals. But the real interest is in struggling toward a goal. But there can be none.
Life is the struggle for survival and growth.
There is no end to strife, not this side of the grave. A game without struggle is a game that's dead. Ultimately, 'managing resources' means managing game elements in pursuit of your goal. A 'resource' that has no game role has nothing to contribute to success or failure, and is ultimately void. You effect actions in the game through your game tokens.