You are not realizing one thing though.
Steemit was recently made it's own entity.
For the purpose of moving forward with SMTs.
Your post is admirable and would have made sense before the re-branding. However the game has changed dramatically now. Steemit Inc. have realized that the STEEM blockchain and the token is the real value. Not the steemit community. It's hard to swallow for those that are here thinking they found utopia, but truth is truth.
From an investor's perspective, the fact that they have realized the power of their blockchain and token is actually a good thing. If the token remained tied to this platform it would have kept going down. The SMT model now actually gives it new found freedom and possibility. If they roll it out right and successfully sell it to other platforms, the price of the STEEM token will see good growth. I'm not about to throw a lot of money at it but I am doing much research and watching progress closely.
You are right in thinking that there is value in the token existing below $1.00. You are wrong in assuming steemit determines it's future. In all honesty, people should start to see that steemit.com was more or less a test (hence beta). One which will continue to be managed and improved, but it certainly won't be the platform that takes on Facebook and such. Or the perfect alternative. It should be quite clear: You got to pay to win around here.
The blockchain/token phenomena is barely in it's infancy.
The future will give rise to many new platforms. It already is. Appics for instance, has a very noble vision. Indahash, another that (although broken) aims to set the new standard. In time, the place that you describe, and that which is admirably longed for in stellabelle's post - where the BEAST known as GREED is kept safely at the gates - will probably become a reality. That does not yet exist though.
BUT, this is just my opinion. Anyone wanting to reach their own conclusion should do some research. There's always more to a story than what greets you on the surface. Informing yourself is very valuable.
great insight. I would be happy if something really cool was built. I am not picky....as long as my steem investment is not a waste.