I think downvoting has some value and is probably necessary to prevent major exploits of the system. Proof of stake was always going to be contentious when shared pots of money are being distributed and ultimately could lead to a complete mirror of the centralisation we see outside of the 'decentralised' sphere. The community valuing and ultimately agreeing to share money to people based on their content is still a relatively new thing for the web and there will no doubt be many twists and turns along the way. The key is always going to be to ensure that the actions of key actors are visible to the whole community so that they can know who to support with upvotes/downvotes and witness votes to ensure their vision stands the best chance of coming to life on Hive. This is part of why my suggestion for a list that shows the most downvoted posts on Hive is such a promising one.