Yes, sustainable is exactly what it can be but only if each person works towards making it so.
As you say, ignorance is one of the things that causes people to act counter-productively for their own futures which is sad. Having said that, there's many people around the place who can assist, help out with some information, thoughts and perspectives that can help people progress. Not only will it help them in that way, but it also helps to build relationships and it's good relationships where increased and larger upvotes originate.
That's one of the most important points in Hive, very well said...like everything you explain to us.