while i feel the discussion has drifted off from the OP somewhat, it seems that there are two distinct and almost exlusive arguments being... erm... argued... here.
EDIT BIG MISTAKE (missed the NON in the below line).
One is : Non Horizons players are being forced to engage with superior emenies armed with ships, weapons and engineering that they don't have access to, thus FD should ditch the original game and make Horizons the defacto base game.
Second is: Horizons is so cheap you should just buy it.
While I understand the second point, I feel that the principle is being lost here.
ED is not a free to play. if the base Elite was free, then I can understand the players becoming disadvantaged once they reached master and start going up against engineered opponents. But it's not... so casual players who bought the original Elite a year or so ago and only managed to play it a few hours a week or per month, or maybe didnt get around to playing it for a year or so (I have games I've purchased two or three years ago but haven't got round to playing yet) might feel a bit hard done by... I will admit that this demographic is likely a very, very slim one, however.
The fact is, like an Apple PC or phone, the functionality is being whittled away as time passes. It's not about the cost, it's about the principle of encouraging / forcing users to upgrade.
Why did I mentione apple? Well, as time goes by, apple drop compatibility of older computers' functions such as updating the browser to modern standards, syncing email and address book, contacts etc. Functions that once worked perfectly actually cease to work, so the old idea that a computer is as capable as the day you bought it no longer holds.
In effect, the computers or phones you once relied on, while still being physically as powerful as they were on the day of purchase (bar battery life, potentially) that are still well powerful enough for daily use are being hamstrung with a less and less favourable environment until they become painful to operate.
As ED marches on, those players who had no interest in purchasing a DLC are similarly hamstrung WITHOUT CHOICE.
It's not questioning whether the stingy FudWack can't afford a fiver, it's about a purchase, tied to a mandatory update cycle linked to an online account is totally at the behest of the publisher and the owner has ZERO say in the direction of that game.
Compare this to NMS... Believer it or not, are actually some owners who prefer the original, simple version of the game without all the minecraft like crafting and complex ship repairs etc. THey still have the original DVD that they can fire up and use without patching or downloading and ACTUALLY PLAY THE GAME THEY PURCHASED.
TL;DR/DC
ED is a glorified prepaid license not a purchase.
Don't get me wrong, I bought in at Alpha level and have no regrets. It's just I see that people are arguing the principle of something with statements like "But it's only $7" Well in some places $7 is an entire mornings' salary after paying maybe several days salary for the base game. But again that's not the point: even more than that, it's the principle of a purchase belonging to the purchaser rather than purchasing a zero guarantee license at the behest of the publisher.