Jaron Lanier on Edge.org, “DIGITAL MAOISM: The Hazards of the New Online Collectivism”:

In other words, clever individuals, the heroes of the marketplace, ask the questions which are answered by collective behavior. They put the jellybeans in the jar.

I had strong disagreements with this piece until this part – he spends much of it downplaying the power of crowds and algorithms, but I think at this moment, he moves from criticism to nuance, and gives the whole piece a lot more power. Long, but very fascinating.