Except in this case, we aren't in a free market. We are all bound by the unique rules of the STEEMIT platform. Like it or not, we are heading to a new hardfork that will change the rules.
So the question becomes, "Is the STEEMIT platform stronger with the built in incentive for whales to upvote whales, or is STEEMIT stronger with built in incentives for whales to upvote superior content?"
Remember, the incentives we have now were not market chosen either...