Can self-publishing transcend the lack of a gatekeeper?

Self-publishing, or indie publishing (as it's proponents would rather call it), was long a dirty word in the literary community. Originally called vanity publishing, it was the haven for those with enough money (and ego) to pay a open-minded publishing house to print up a shoddy manuscript, and bypassing the time honored process of being screened by a literary agent, who then gets the work screene

Can self-publishing transcend the lack of a gatekeeper?