Finally able to reply.
I suggest reading the whitepaper again. Distributing the currency and increasing its value is indeed "primary". The social media platform is simplify a Trojan horse. And "quality content" is an expected effect, but not the purpose.
Many people get this backwards, leading to constant frustration and disappointment when the see "emotional pandering". They have nothing to be disappointed about because the founders were quite explicit in the whitepaper as to their intentions. And they have since reiterated those intentions with their "evil plan for world domination" post.
People do not come here primarily for quality content, though that's a useful side effect of the platform. They come here to make money and to see other people make money. They come here for the dopamine hit. They come here for the same reason people gamble (though with Steemit there's little to no cost to wager). They come here and stay here for the "gamification". Steemit has gamified social media better than any other platform in history. It's the game that hooks them. The actual content is secondary.
I agree that humans (including "whales") are not rational actors. Even so, at a gut level, they vote for the purpose of increasing the value of their holdings. That vote may be driven more by emotion than rationality, but the purpose of the vote is the same nonetheless.
It's irrelevant whether the ones with everything to gain and nothing to lose are "the masses" or "the whales". Anytime people who make decisions that impact the community have little to no "chip in the game", disaster awaits. That's the fiat economy. With Steemit, the people wielding the most influence are whales (just like in the fiat economy), but in the Steemit economy, and unlike in the fiat economy, whales suffer the most if their decision is the wrong one. Both profits and losses are privatized on Steemit. In the fiat economy, profits are privatized while losses are socialized.
To conclude, Steemit will have awesome original content because it is the best platform in the world for it, but that's not why it exists. And, just like the art museum in most cities is surrounded by a much more vulgar culture, so will it be here too. Steemit won't be ONLY, or even mainly, a place for quality content, though more of it will be found here than any other social media site. There will always be plenty of "emotional pandering" too (to satisfy the masses).
Currently the "slow thinking" posts often get lost among the "fast thinking" ones. There's currently no way for people to sufficiently sort to their liking. That will soon change when the "follow" feature starts working, and tags become more diverse and better policed. At that point, those who want quality content will see mostly that, and those that want smut will see mostly that too.
Great reply. Thanks for taking the time.
I'm starting to understand your perspective.