He does NOT literally mean that "Joe the plumber" should take up Java web development. Rushkoff is attempting to re-frame what it means to be a user. He wants t

He does NOT literally mean that "Joe the plumber" should take up Java web development. Rushkoff is attempting to re-frame what it means to be a user. He wants the public to become more critical of the usage of technology and to be able to assert their intent with digital tools. His problem is with the fact that people are USED BY power structures whose influence is augmented by their mastery of technology. By telling the non-digerati to "learn to program", Rushkoff is trying to push them towards a mastery of computing that TO THEM is effectively "programming". I think that his intent is to arm folks for the kinds of future challenges that Cory Doctoro describes. See the "war on computation" talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUEvRyemKSg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUEvRyemKSg