The Steem network is a decentralized free market. There are some governance elements within the code, but by and large, it's a nearly perfect free market. Libertarian, anarchist, whatever you may call it.
A lot of people seem to "believe in anarchy", but often don't seem to be aware the rules of the game. So, when the time comes, there's some extreme butthurt. Anarchy is all cool... till it bites them in the arse. Reality check, that's exactly what you signed up for. Indeed, anecdotally, rampant butthurt is Steem's emotion-du-jure, and defines what it means to be a Steemian. Maybe there would be less butthurt incurred if you adjust your expectations to reality. With that said, here's how a free society works -
- No one gives a rat's ass about you. You're completely irrelevant.
- You're owed rat shit. You're entitled to absolutely nothing.
- There's no concept of fairness or justice at all. Any cries about what is fair and unfair is totally irrelevant.
- Everyone can say what they want, upvote what they like, and downvote what they don't. If you accept the upvotes, you are obliged to accept the downvotes.
- Scammers and criminals have an inherent advantage over altruistic, peaceful people.
- They can and will abuse you, and there's not one damn thing you can do about it.
- Except lick some whale balls. They control this market absolutely.
7b) There's zero correlation between pending payout and "quality of content". Pending payout is directly proportional to how well you can shill yourself to the whales. - So the next time you're butthurt about perceived "unfairness", better power up some Steem to set things right.
Are you OK with all of that? Then you can call yourself a true anarchist. If your expectations are aligned, then perhaps you'll never be butthurt.
If, however, that sounds like a brutal world - well, tough luck fellas. There's no free lunch here. Except for the whale balls.
On a serious note, there's some relief from the brutal free market. Communities are incoming, and I expect some really well moderated, benevolent communities to form. Your favourite communites be your shelter. That won't save you from whale whims, though. For that, the Steem community can get together and take action. If that doesn't work, discuss laws in code, that may attempt at a free market with less injustice. These changes in laws / constitution are expressed as hardforks that your elected government (witnesses) may choose to adopt. It's an intriguing experiment. (Or just build a judiciary system like EOS plans to.)