I'm not sure encoding "fairness" would work anyway, but having enough feedback loops that attenuate behaviour that is damaging to the chain is entirely feasible. Most people obey their laws most of the time not due to a sense of fairness but a fear of retribution; if encoded, that's just a negative feedback loop.
As you say, Steem is a framework, and more than SMTs I hope that SCOT fulfills its promise of being a more flexible tool so that some projects will "reframe" the rules so that their communities can thrive with little or no interference from the underlying blockchain economy.
I'm also not saying it will be easy - but it's worth another experiment in crypto-economics.
There are also some non-economic social issues, such as the ease of keeping in touch with friends, but this article was mainly about financial issues.
People will work around algorithms. It's up to people to determine where rewards go. Flagging/downvoting is part of that, but many people will just not do it and in some cases you have to fear big retaliation. Another aspect of the freedom of Steem.