Steemit Economics (Positivism vs. Praxeology) [Part 1]

This is a response to the post "Got a Problem with Steem's Reward System? Read This!" by Sean-King.

First, thank you for your post. It was thought provoking, leading me to conjure up this post.
Second, you're half-wrong.

My discord is based on the following:

the purpose of Steem is first and foremost to place a valuable currency into circulation.  Given that, there's really only one "logical" way to measure a post's value:  Does it make the currency more valuable and lead to broader interest and circulation? That's it. The end.   

The way to measure a post's value is whether it increases the value of the currency.

This is the way it must be right now; if this remains the primary purpose, content (slow thinking) will certainly lose to emotional pandering (fast thinking). If there were 30 million people on Steemit, it would only exacerbate the common denominator. People are here because they can make money. The increase of the value of the currency is a potential that the people look forward to, but is not primary. The whales are founders, early adopters, and the few that slipped in. They are more concerned with the value of the currency. That is why they upvote authenticity and Steem posts.

All that matters to a rational Steem holder, especially a whale, is whether or not the post improves the value and distribution of Steem.

Rationality is widely used as an assumption of the behavior of individuals in microeconomic models.
People thinks primarily with "System 1," and secondarily with "System 2." (1 2)
Cognition comes into play AFTER the limbic system.

Fact is, beauty and sex appeal are draws. We are hard wired for attraction to such things. There's just no avoiding that, and we'd be silly to try.

More generally, we are hard wired for excitement. We are fortunate that Steemit is filled with people who are excited about cryptocurrency, offsetting the excitement sought by the general populous. But when Steemit gains mainstream audiences, this content will be buried in the cacophony. There are solutions, which I will explore in Part 3; Steemit is a blend of the top social networks, but I intend on fostering the best features of each while obfuscating, or improving, the worst features.

these things were deemed by whales to be important to Steem's growth and distribution potential

source

The top wealthiest 1% possess 40% of America's wealth; the bottom 80% own 7%. (wiki)
The top wealthiest 1% possess 90% of Steemit's wealth; the bottom 80% own < 1%.

I understand that the redistribution of Steem Power is currently in process, and that the founders and early adopters are the 1%. I point this out to highlight the current inequality, as well as a long-term goal in this respect.

Those with more to lose should have a bigger say in what happens than those with less. That's how self-sustaining and self-regulating systems work. Put too much decision making authority in those with little to lose, who are not sufficiently vested in the system, and...well...you end up with a fiat economy. Head's they win and tails you lose. 

Putting too much decision making authority in those with little to lose is a fiat economy.

The difference is that in a fiat economy it's not the masses that have too much decision making authority with little to lose, it's the whales... which is the current state of Steemit. I grant that once dolphins, sharks, octopodes, and squids get in the game, the inequality will wane; and that plankton, herrings, minnows, and krill will always be the core of Steemit. But I crave unique, unapologetic, and creative content. And the whales are focused on building the community and whether a post increases the value of the currency.

This is not a complaint. This is recognition.

To conclude part 1, I believe "the way to measure a post's value is whether it increases the value of the currency," should hold until the redistribution is further along. The future of Steemit rests heavily on the GUI, interactivity, and curation.

Part 2 preview:

Positivism vs. Praxeology

Positivism is a philosophical theory stating that positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations. Thus, information derived from sensory experience, interpreted through reason and logic, forms the exclusive source of all authoritative knowledge. Positivism holds that society, like the physical world, operates according to general laws.

Praxeology is the deductive study of human action based on the notion that humans engage in purposeful behavior. According to its theorists, with the action axiom as the starting point, it is possible to draw conclusions about human behavior that are both objective and universal. For example, the notion that humans engage in acts of choice implies that they have preferences, and this must be true for anyone who exhibits intentional behavior.