@jrcornel, I feel hopeful. People feel inspired when it seems like their input (votes) make a difference. It also matters because some part of our humanness likes helping people... and when there's a small visual indicator that a vote actually leaves something in someone else's "tip jar," that's an overall positive feeling... which leads to more participation.
As for what happens at the "top end" of the scale... that remains to be seen, I guess. I don't even know where I fall on the curve; my primary concern is the more powerful votes causing people to run out of voting power faster, leading to less curation. Or will it? I guess all we can do is experiment.