Betting on the Bottom-Up

Rohini Nilekani of the Argyam foundation writes(PDF):

When citizens who are economically and politically weak are not fluent in reading math,they are open to terrible exploitation from those who benefir from the asymmetry of information. Yet,it is easier now than ever before to help remedy this,even where education systems appear broken. We are witnessing the rapid expansion of communication networks that flatten hierarchies and allow disruptive change. We can now imagine that the unexpressed wisdom resident in so many disconnected people will find voice through new media,provided citizens can participate meaningfully.