I am not writing this post to be vitriolic or criticize anyone personally. How could I? My life philosophy is that of I'm an ass, you're an ass. We're all asses. So let's love each other and get along.

There is something that I'd like to address, though, and it is an idea that has been prevalent and popping up here and there since this platform's inception:

recurring attitudes/sentiments of entitlement.

My attention was recently drawn to this post by @dannyshine.

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First, I'd like to say that I like the post and resonate with much of what my fellow Steemian here has written. He mentions that

The atmosphere at Steemfest felt to me like there was a positive slant and not enough desire for dissent.

I think this is a hugely important point. I, like @dannyshine, despise groupthink and phony "let's think positive" crap that covers up and brushes off any dissenting voice by simply ignoring it or making more noise about how great everything is. I was raised in a religious environment as well, so totally agree with the author here.

The author and I are also both open to discussing the dangers of vaccination and the scientifically supported notion that much more research is warranted regarding vaccines and autism. Anyone who wishes to censor such discussion (as mentioned in his article) I view as somewhat of a threat to free speech/freedom. That said, this is a stake-weighted voting platform, so if someone does not like what I have to say, they may downvote it. They may do so with great power, potentially, demolishing my rewards. But. There are always social consequences for unsavory actions. Anyway, I digress

Suffice it to say, this post is NOT an attack on @dannysunshine, whom I respect highly, or any other Steemian. What it is is an address of an idea, and another kind of groupthink which could EASILY destroy Steemit. Ironically, this very same idea/sentiment is often cited as the cure for problems that have been encountered here. In a word: Communism. In a word: "No fair! You should share what you earned!"

Where I disagree:

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The author goes on to write:

Yet Steemit still seems to have that sort of hierarchy going on. Although it can be argued that inequality is OK and perhaps natural to some extent, there seem to be very little concern about this form the people at the top... We at the bottom end of Steem, are working our butts off, promoting steem at every corner, whilst @ned and many of the Whales, benefit from our efforts without supporting us...Ned did delegate the 3.5 million steem (seemingly to random people) but he recently took it back as it was being abused. Why doesn't delegate it to those who promote steemit and help minnows get traction by putting his steem power out to tender?

There are whales who have enough power to destroy the little man if they take a disliking to him/her. When I brought this up at fest, they dismissed it.

My short answer to this is...well...yeah.

Ned's money is just that. Ned's money. He and Dan Larimer gave birth to this awesome platform. All of us jumped on and came along for the ride. Now we are building it. I totally agree that it is true that a few whales could destroy the platform if they wanted to, probably, and that there is a huge difference in voting power, etc, from top to bottom. The thing is, that's how this platform was designed, as a stake-weighted voting platform. It is critically important to remember that if the whales "in power" fuck everything up, and abuse everyone, it is their own source of revenue they would be shooting in the foot by compromising the platform and driving people elsewhere.

The power of this platform, and its potentially revolutionary quality, rest on the fact that it is ultimately a self-interested, individualist endeavor.

Before you go nuts and start calling me a greedy capitalist pig, just take a second to think about it. Why do so many Steemians choose to now save their long-form rants and philosophical diatribes (or high-quality poetry, photo uploads, etc, whatever the case may be) for this platform as opposed to posting them on another such as Facebook? The answer? Incentive. There is a reward. THE CONTENT IS QUITE LITERALLY VALUED. This is the whole strength of the platform, and the community. Why is the community here so high quality when compared to other sites? Because individuals can earn their own money.

I have been writing for basically as long as I can remember. I will, God willing, be writing until the day that I leave this planet. I write for myself. Now, if I can be paid for doing what I naturally want to do anyway, and even have an extra monetary incentive to push my craft to the next level, why wouldn't I? It is absolutely amazing that I can finally receive value for the value I perceive myself putting forth. The moment I say "everyone should be equal" and/or "it's not fair that that other shitty post was rewarded so much, they should give me some of that" this platform will be dead in the water.

Why? Because at that point the platform becomes not about individuals working to provide and receive value for value, but about who can beg the most bread crumbs from the king. The hardest workers will turn away in disgust, seeing their creations assessed not for the subjective value they bring to others' lives, but for whether or not they as individuals have what another individual in power arbitrarily deems "too much" or "too little."

Ironically, concerns about hierarchy and centralization of power, if used to justify collectivist "redistribution" can result in the most horrible power centralizations imaginable.

Nobody is dignified by being paid for garbage out of pity. Nobody is dignified by being stolen from, either. True charity, community, and quality can only happen in a free, individualist market.

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In closing, I would just like to agree with @dannysunshine that dissent is of utmost importance. That is why I am writing this. I stand firm with him in raising voices of dissent to the top of the fish chain here on the platform. This is my little way of doing it as well. As a fair warning to all the "big whales" out there, if you act abusively and in ways that don't benefit the platform, this platform, your bread and butter, so to speak, will crumble and dissipate until there is nothing left for you. To the struggling minnows and others on the platform: work hard, voice you opinions, NETWORK, and don't give up! It is my experience here that hard work and finding a unique niche does pay off. Should their come a point where it doesn't, we will simply find a new market.

PEACE, LOVE, AND ANARCHY

~KafkA

!

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Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)