The problem is that most people do not really want an Internet controlled by its users, because what most people want is a ton of somewhat-reliable throughput.

The problem is that most people do not really want an Internet controlled by its users, because what most people want is a ton of somewhat-reliable throughput. An Internet run by volunteers out of their homes, cooperatively, could work -- Fidonet works -- but would likely have much lower throughput than today's Internet. Overlay networks (darknets included) cannot work if the ISPs that run the Internet do not allow people to run them or connect to them.