Great topic about an incredible platform. I so much hope it lasts and know that something like this will last, whether it's steem or a next generation.

Your post is around the intercept between human nature and the game rules of this platform.

People are greedy. Many people are vengeful. People are good, selfless, bad and selfish all in one. If the game rules set up an opportunity to work the system (like buying votes, setting up pools, gang like intimidation etc) then people will do it.

We deal with this aspect of human nature generally by creating laws and enforcing them. The better the legal system works the more people want to live in that country.

Bitcoin deals with it by having very strict and simple rules that cannot be broken (unless programmed differently). As a concept it might be anarchistic, disruptive and transcend classic governance structures. But the tool itself is pretty much a rigid and limited set of rules and functions. Value can be transferred - but only if there's value in that account. You have a very safe password - but don't lose it or you're value is toast.

Reddit is more chatoic and has limited adoption. Facebook is much more controlled and has much greater adoption than Reddit. People want that safety and control.

But this system is based on a more anarchistic philosophy. And censorship is intentionally restricted and not centralised (though in effect a few whales do have a large say). And I think this is going to be something that limits mass adoption.