That's exactly why I said everyone can argue a different point with this :P

EDIT: I think that there is good chance (some) people with a high reputation will think "see, people appreciate my posts, and they're right, so the system works". On the other hand, people with low reputation will think "people don't appreciate my posts, and they're wrong, so the system doesn't work".

That said, I think the system works. The people whose posts I typically enjoy seem to have a higher reputation than others.

EDIT2: People who take reputation more personally are more likely to be against it, but are also more likely to get into more personal arguments or complain about negative reputation. Both these actions generally cause more negative reputation. Selffulfilling-ish prophecy!