I think a way to think about it is the current system, if we were to personify it a bit and suppose it is judging content for those that are helping build the platform versus, that the current system is not a good judge of all but rather one that is corrupt and can be bribed such as often the case with vote buying. It is true that we ought not to reward passivity (aka a euphemistic way to say lazy. ;P) over actively working to build the platform.

We need a new mechanism, a new judge, that is able to discern and reward activities conducive to the growth of the platform and penalize parasitic selfishness. I know that I am beating a dead horse when I say this but we need to place a greater emphasis on building communities that people want to be a part but the problems are so deep seated at this time that I am concerned that such labors would merely be adding to the bloat of the parasites which is my segue into the next analogy.

If Steem were a host organism, it is currently infested with parasitic organisms. The ideal is mutualism but human nature, as I expect it to via my anthropology, has led to the departure from that system and rather an unsustainable one. The reasonable folks like us want to feed and grow the host but the leeches are sucking away and becoming more powerful than our kind and securing their control of the flow of sustenance.

Therein lies the problem, we all want to build Steem but our efforts inevitably benefit the leeches. I don't care for feeding any damn leeches which has led to my becoming sheepish when it comes to investing further into this blockchain because I do not want to enable or empower them. Rather, I think it may be prudent to let nature run it's course. They will continue to feed and I believe Steem's value will continue to bleed but there may be hope at the end of the tunnel which I will explain.

I believe @freebornangel has it right when he suggested something along the lines of once Steem reaches a certain point, the abusers will depart and find a new platform to exploit. That may be when we come in and work together to make Steem the kind of blockchain it was meant to be.

A blockchain based on mutualism and not incentivized exploitation. That is the Steem I yearn for...

Excellent write-up, my friend!