This could come to a head in a future conflict over, say, block size. I can easily imagine a faction of transactors lobbying for a higher block size, in an attempt to create more blockspace and push down the clearing price of gas. But will large token holders, benefiting from the deflationary effect of the high fees, want to reduce the size of their user-financed stipend? The fact is that, due to the fee-burning mechanic, which has clearly been quite good for the price of ether, the individuals in control of Ethereum protocol design now have a meaningful incentive to keep fees permanently high.