Your points are just beautiful. Someone talking in business mode (patio11), versus someone in product mode (edv519).
I think your argument is rather about your goals. patio11 wants to make money first of all. edv519 wants to make the user happy first of all. Both views have pros and cons, and you will probably both reach your goals.
You don't understand what Patio11 is saying. He wants to know that your product can actually get people to pay up. It's the ultimate in product validation. Until people will pull out that wallet and sign on the dotted line, you don't know that your product solves a real problem.
That's what Patio11 wants. He doesn't want to get paid up front and he's not in "business mode". He's trying to validate his product in the best possible way.
That's just it. Human beings often say one thing and mean another. Users' willingness - even eagerness - to pay is the one true, OBJECTIVE measure of the value they place on your product.
When people value something, they WANT to exchange money. Why? Because they want to take possession of it.
Exchanging money for value on a deep, primal level satisfies this urge.
Not only that, often times people say they want a solution but it's not what they really want. And often times, people are clueless.
But when they exchange money for value, you have a clear indication of just that - what they value.
I think your argument is rather about your goals. patio11 wants to make money first of all. edv519 wants to make the user happy first of all. Both views have pros and cons, and you will probably both reach your goals.