The free market implies that there is an exchange of currency. So if you vote up this story, you are losing something because of that vote. Instead, if you vote up this story, you'll receive something for doing that. That means you're incentivized to vote irrespective of whether the content is high quality or not.
If, instead, each vote cost a certain amount of money and there were people STILL making $2,728 per post, then I'd be sitting here completely amazed. Right now, I'm skeptical. I want to be convinced, but for now, skepticism is healthy, I believe.
RE: Where Does Steem Fit In With the Numerous Altcoin Scams?