My main point is that people only make decisions locally and have never been in charge in the sense that quote claims.

Perhaps not, but in the past, whenever folks have become too dissatisfied with the non-local decisions being made on their behalf, they have always managed to find some scapegoat to put up against the wall and shoot. And that catharsis, while costly, never quite reached the level of stupidity of a collective suicide.

I almost agree with the Unibomber here. I hope we never become so dependent on our technology that we simply can't find our way back.