In all of human history there has been inequality in terms of the "haves and the have-nots". This had been a sad fact of the human condition since the days when we lived in caves and being "rich" was defined by how much food you could provide.
I came to Steemit pretty late in the game here, I can see that. I do not bemoan this fact. It would be pointless and a waste of my semi-valuable time. And yes, what drew me was the fact that you could make money doing it. I had always wanted to write and, hey why not.
What I found here is an amazing community of people who do want to help and listen to people like me, even if I don't make much. Being on Steemit is worth it just for not having to listen to the partisan political talking-heads that are in my face every day.
I will never be a whale. Yes, I've had one really good post payout and yes, I do have a post that made the top 10 Google search results. Despite this I've made little "money". At this point, I can only ever hope one day MAYBE a dolphin. But is this something I can change? Perhaps, if I'm really lucky, but not likely. In the end I, like so many others who are like me and not even red fish, we can only grind out what small measure of value and reward we can. I'm now putting it all into SP so that maybe, one day, I can say that Steemit was part of the reason I am financially successful. I believe it can happen.
Yes there is a disparity between the high level accounts and low level ones when it comes to earnings and voting potential. This is a natural result of the human condition. In the end, whether my writing was of a caliber to warrant serious attention or just so much crap that should have ended up in the trash, it will be there as long as the blockchain survives.
Has Steemit moved away from it's original goals? I don't know. I wasn't here when those goals were laid down. All I know is, for now, Steemit is the only place I can go where it feels like people are listening to what I'm saying.
Even if I am just taking to myself.
Peace
Isn't it a bit too easy to say: Yeah well it's always been like that.
I'm actually here because I believed that things would be different.
That's at least what this place is selling: "the new world". But in fact there is no new world.
Yeah, it really is too easy to say that, but it doesn't change the fact it's true. I'm not saying it's not a problem, but, in any free market conditions, the natural result is that, those who hold the stake, hold the power.
I was having a discussion last night with a friend on Discord who made the statement that "whales control the crypto markets". My only reply to that is that whales control the world. Always have, and, until something truly changes in the way humanity views wealth and possessions, always will.
Is there a simple answer to this? I don't know. It seems to me that there are a lot of groups on Steemit trying to help the little guys who are fighting just to get seen. A change in the way rewards are given out could be the answer, but that has to be weighed against any possible effects on the market.
I'm just a little... (Am I even plankton? Lol), in a big pond. I have high hopes for Steemit but it remains to be seen whether or not the "rewards" system for Steemit will remain viable when Steemit has 1 million users.... Or a billion.