Yes, Steemit may not necessarily be what you find on the free market because Steemit is not physical, generally speaking, because there is a difference. Steemit is a communication tool, mostly, that would cost money generally. Everything we do on Steem could and maybe should cost me and you and each user money to use like we would spend money to use electricity, phones, computers, cable. Our ability to not pay, and our ability to make any money here, be it thousands of dollars or maybe even one dollar is a miracle. What we have on Steemit is capitalism as each post and comment is the product that is auctioned by and through everybody. If millions of people upvoted this comment that I am writing right here, then I would get more money THAN YOU in your comment assuming they didn't also upvote your comments too. That is capitalism. We all determine the prices through our voting.
Principles are found as we shift and filter through the good and the bad. That is the art of the deal of what life is all about. Steemit is capitalism in so many ways mostly because it serves as a platform for doing Steemit. The biggest aspect of capitalism may not necessarily be found in the voting system, in the upvoting, in the voting power, in the curation, in some of those things, maybe not some might argue to some extent, but Steemit allows you to sell your stuff or whatever if you want at any time. Your online store can be there or linked on Steemit. Don't look at the Shelton Music LLC Store in Shelton, WA, and do not go to http://SheltonMusicLLC.com and remember that Steemit is at least not selling your data like Facebook and maybe Steemit is not perfect has limitations and certain problems and you may also feel it has problems too and some of those things can be improved upon and stuff and http://Busy.org has a http://d.tube player while http://steemit.com does not currently have one and that is one example of limitations but it is all about the competition and more.
Steemit is of capitalism not in itself and not by itself alone maybe maybe but it is rather an element of the bigger picture of a world seeking to get away from Rothschild and corporatism and socialism and China and technocracy and plutocracy and Soros and Clinton and Bush and Obama and the EU and the UN and much more. The prices are depending on us more than you say it is. We decide a lot more than you seem to admit. Steemit is not necessarily a direct market place and that is what might be confusing you. Steemit is more like a walky talky.