I think you should allow yourself to look at steem blockchain from different aspects, not just a social network rewarding good content.
One example that comes into my mind instantly is people in poor countries. Our globe does not consist of England alone where people have it easier to get by compared with many other countries. Imagine how a opportunity of making income and not having to worry about existential problems must mean to people. Imagine you would not be able to feed your family or pay your bills and suddenly steemit comes along. Would you say no to giving your child food because you stayed true to your principles, because it's more important that the community thought your post was not worth the upvote? In many countries, even here in Europe steem blockchain can be a live saver
I think Steemit offers great opportunities to poorer countries. All they need is an internet connection and a few dollars will go a long way for them. It's already happening in places like Nigeria, Venezuela and Aceh. There's just a danger that if they try to spam the system to make money then there will be a fight back. We saw some of that on Tsu. I appreciate that I have it relatively easy. Steemit is a form of anarchy and that can be abused. If it goes the wrong way then people will be put off and the value of Steemit will plummet. Then everyone loses.
I don't think spammers mining steem will outweigh the whales very fast, even with buying votes. Their drop in the ocean would take forever to cause an impact, especially vs serious investors doing the real damage whenever they can. Steem blockchain is business as much as it is everything it can be. Imo we should give it time and embrace growth. Ofc I want it to flourish into something majestic and wonderful instead of killing it but people are making money and given the chance to free themselves from governmental enslavement in so many areas. Let them and teach them.
People are creating new businesses here and selling votes is one of them. At Steemfest Ned would just say that it was 'interesting'. I'm encouraging growth by supporting those doing good things. Communities are forming around interests and location to do this too.