I am not sure what you mean when you say that the Net will stop us from creating problems in the first place. I agree that existing problems may be solved, such as your argument that the average consumer will be better informed. But it seems more likely that new problems will be created in the upcoming world, even if we can't say what those problems actually are right now. For example, it could not have been predicted in the 1960s that the internet would pose a grave threat to traditional media companies. One of the new problems could be the increasing significance of a disparity between people with internet connections and those without. Moreover, the financial meltdown may squeeze resources that would otherwise have gone to laying down the necessary infrastructure to get the have-nots connected.

-- JasonChan - 10 Dec 2008