Some days, i think it would be great to go back to just bartering, but then I wonder how quickly I would run out of things of value and end up needing to trade the new stuff I just bartered to get.
But the application of a bartering system happening on Steemit works. There is definitely a give and take, and for a while, however long it is, there seems to be more give than take. I still haven't seen amazingly awesome results, but relatively speaking I am seeing progress.
Hopefully, it continues to grow and doesn't recede. Or if it does, it won't be so bad. The price of STEEM seems to be a big determining factor in what happens around here, so as long as it remains higher, there could be more opportunities to improve.
Yes you are right, you can't barter personal possessions for very long before you run of things you need. You would have to be growing or making something to trade. But I guess that's just called working and trading your products / time. Seems there will always be some kind of middle man involved, like merchants who buy the products of others and sell them on, or banks that loan money so others can buy. Hopefully, decentralized crypto will eventually be more fair to producers, and reduce the role of middle parties. Then again, I am certainly no economist!