Of course downvoting has a strong element of censorship to it.
By flat out hiding posts, or by demotivating contribution, to mention a few.
The second reason would not be all bad if the influence of a downvote was evenly valued to the individual. However, it is not. It's directly linked to ones SP, which mean censorship can be bought and controlled by the few.
Also, with the utilization of bots, the human factor is in many cases removed. So much of what is being downvoted is never even being considered or evaluated by anyone in the first place.
RE: Why is the Steem Price Low? How Do We Fix It?