> My argument, admittedly heavyhanded, is that organizing this work based on altruism does not work. It may work here and there, for a period of time

For the special case of intellectual creation, which has no marginal cost of reproduction and often benefits from the widest exposure and availability, there are many counterexamples where fully voluntary work has been successful. Even HN itself might fairly be described as one at least partially, since karma points are not a monetary incentive and only the site's moderators and sysops are paid.