You inspired me some questions with this post. I'm new to the space but willing to learn fast.
The study of limitations is indeed well due. There are as you say inherent limit which we already have to deal with. Communication speed for example is a problem for distributed technology. On top of that there is the on purpose lag time to ensure that consensus is reached. Blockchains have to be designed to be slow for consensus to be reached.
Going beyond the pure blockchain technology, certainly the incentives model for adoption and maintenance of the technology are needed. What I find interesing is that blockchains allow us to develop some economical playgrounds to test policies.
Do you have a follow up on this post?