In the era of cultural chaos, people have access to more information than ever before. If information is the prerequisite of knowledge, and if knowledge is power, other things remaining equal, this trend corresponds to a power-shift from the traditionally information-rich elite to the no-longer so information-poor mass. Which is not to prejudge the quality of information available, nor to assume that everyone has equal access to it, nor that all who have access to it use that access to develop their intellectual resources in ways that might have positive political impacts on their own lives or on the management of the society in which they live. Throughout history, all communication technologies have been put to destructive

as well as constructive uses. What has changed is the vastly expanded supply and availability of information, and with it the potential depth and range of individual and collective knowledge.