Although true independence is likely unavailable for most people, being an individual in a community working together is possible. My personal goal is to develop my skillset and resources to be able to provide for myself by being valuable to the group or, groups within the group.
When it comes to content for example, there is no way that there is value for everyone who reads it, especially if they are not looking for value in unexpected places. However, when it comes to my Steem Power, it is valuable to everyone within the group, no matter their interest areas. Steem Power in my view is kind of like electricity, it can power a light bulb, a car or an entire city. I see the production of energy as a skill and resource.
For me, I want to be able to stand on my own two feet but, that doesn't mean I am not dependent as for me to be able to provide all that I need requires access to the skills and resources of others. The ability for me to produce content is my skill that hopefully can access the resources of Steem others hold so that I can gather my own resources and in turn, help producers develop their own pool.
A healthy community is made up of people with a diverse range of skills and resources who both supply and demand from others in the community. If there are too many members who can't supply, but the demand is very high, resources get spread thinly and of course, high demand commands high price. This means that those within the system must pay more for access to resources, namely Steem Power.
Currently that price is *actually paid to bidbots but, the system wasn't actually designed to operate in this way. The price of access was the quality of content. At least, in theory but, people are people as we all know. Quality and price paid rarely go hand in hand and in general, people overpay middlemen operators for services that don't provide anywhere near the value paid.
But, besides my personal views on all of this, at the end of the day I have my own path to take and, my own agenda to push. Everyone has an agenda and just like most people, I do want Steem price to eventually increase and for me to have access to more resources that make my life both better and easier but, I also have limitations on what I am willing to do to have that.
For me, I do my best to provide value through my words in the hope that the value provided is reciprocated in turn to create an economy between my skills and those wiling to pay for them. Of course, they get paid through this transaction to and if they continue to grow also, the value gathered back from me today will potentially have a much higher value in the future. Nothing is guaranteed though.
Maybe I am old fashioned or, maybe I am an idiot, but I still believe that I deserve nothing for free, I have to offer something into the transaction. This is my content and, this is my vote. In return I get to enjoy access to others vote and, access to their content as I also do not expect to enjoy the thoughts and work of others without providing them some transactional value that they can use to improve their ability to both be more independent and more a part of the community they inhabit.
We all have different experiences and likely, we all need help to be carried from time to time but, if people aren't working toward a life where they can carry themselves and have a little energy left over to help others, we are going to continue living in a debt cycle and those who have the skill to collect energy will and, those who don't will live at their mercy.
I don't like to be carried, I don't like receiving without giving. It is about the relationships between supply and demand that is important and what each offers the other for access to what it provides. There are some things I am willing to work my fingers to the bone for and, a community that values people over profit is one of them.
Profit is the energy to improve the system for people to have more opportunity. It is a byproduct of the work and the content people provide, not the focus. In time, perhaps money won't be required to buy opportunity but regardless, relevant skill and content production will always hold value in a community aimed to improve. If what you are doing isn't improving you, it isn't helping others. We all have the freedom to improve ourselves with the resources we have and we can exercise our freedom, always.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]