It still blows my mind a bit thinking about how all this works. I remember when Steem first launched, and people were saying it's a Ponzi scheme. I found it really ironic, because all of those Bitcoiners had somehow forgotten just a few months or years earlier, people had been saying the same stuff about Bitcoin. The few who took the chance did very well, and helped build the most positive social media community ever.
The other day my friend linked me to an interesting episode of Sam Harris's podcast talk where they were talking about universal basic income. They always seem to present it as if it's the only way for people to get paid in the future, but things like Steemit already exist... In a few years the experts will surely be saying "Nobody could have seen that coming!"
Yes it's amazing.
I don't like the implications of universal basic income. It sounds all sweetness and light, but in reality it will increase dependence on the state, along with all of the negative results of that.
With concepts like Steem and whatever comes next, it is not required in my opinion.