Well, we already see a democratization of the means of production. Look at open source 3D printers. Did you know there is an open library for smart materials?

Well, we already see a democratization of the means of production. Look at open source 3D printers. Did you know there is an open library for smart materials? For genetic information? Open Hardware projects are multiplying, think arduino, raspberry pi, beagleboard… I mean shit - even the last CCCamp had it's own piece of open hardware. I myself am thinking about developing a little robot that can tend plants, basically an open source toolchain for vertical farming… There is more and more stuff like this coming up all the time. And of course there's even an open source civilization starter kit you can inform yourself about at http://opensourceecology.org http://opensourceecology.org IMHO the risk of one faction being all-powerful is nearly zero. We have good times ahead. Even though the road may have a few bumps.