Should I say that the decentralized systems are also centralized. Governed by a few. The whales are mighty after all. They can give and snatch as per their desires. They have the power to threat and they potentially do and ultimately can achieve their desirable outcomes.
I heard someone saying, "There is no law without a flaw." That's the fact, ha. To overcome that flaw there is a need of ethical and moral building that is something that never accomplishes fully.
I have never been in favor of subjective downvoting. There should be some objective standards for it like plagiarism or clear spamming, or any standard already specified by the platforms or communities.
Layer 2 has its own risks as you stated. It is not a reliable method of gaining the desirable outcome. I don't really know what technically should be, but the problem be solved at layer one.