post/comment that gets an award will often end up upvoted to the top of a thread
Maybe that's because it's a good comment? Or because Reddit treats it that way in their proprietary algorithm, of which there's no such thing here, and as far as I can tell, is not part of this pitch.
They incentivise least-common-denominator behaviour from commenters who then race to be the first to make the most obvious joke or reply
Why would anyone be farming these meaningless awards?
It doesn't engender good and thoughtful content.
Why would a comment with no good or thoughtful content get an award?