Have you stopped to think that maybe you are rationalizing based on your particular interpretation of what a "free" market is? Think of it this way, a market is a collection of individuals that exchange value based on the signals received from other market participants.

As far as I am aware you would be hard-pressed to find a market that doesn't have a high degree of centralization. The "free market" is just a theoretical construct that only exist in text books...crypto markets are no exception.

The majority stakeholders on hive that participate in governance have decided of their own free will to follow a course of action in response to the market conditions of hbd. If that is not a free market then I don't know what to say.

What you see as price "manipulation" I see as a rational response to the overvaluation of hbd. If market participants can't respond to price fluctuations then who can? In my book hive stakeholders are legitimate market participants.

Only about 20% of the stake participates in governance, the other 80% is free to vote for other proposals above the ones for the hbd stabilization if they whish to do so. If they don't do it it means they are ok with it or if they disagree then it's on them for not voting accordingly.