The system as it is now is designed to allow commerce and valuation to occur, assuming that valuations are based on the collective wisdom of the crowd, which is based on the notion that most all coins are not lost.
No. The system was based on the notion that the total quantity of coins is unimportant.
From day one it has been understood that coins could be and would be lost. I'm sorry you missed this in your research, but coin loss was a design decision, not an accident.