EVE isn't designed to just look like a cold, dark and harsh world, it's designed to be a cold, dark and harsh world. High sec is relatively safe but you can still be killed there. The person attacking you will get his ship blown up and his security rating lowered, so he will still pay. Maybe the game mechanics isn't what you'd like to see, but it's certainly not broken.

Wrangler
Assistant Community Manager
EVE Online