Packet-switching works for a variety of engineering reasons, not because it somehow embodies in code the distilled wisdom of Aristotle, Rousseau, Locke, and Madison.

FORBES: Is Digital Utopianism Dead?

So yes, the Internet has thrived in part because packet-switching works.

FORBES: Is Digital Utopianism Dead?

Rather, the collective ingenuity of people such as Andy Bechtolsheim (co-founder of Sun Microsystems and subsequently Granite Systems) and Judy Estrin (a serial entrepreneur in the packet-switching business) was crucial to drive the technology through the standards bodies.

ECONOMIST: CASE HISTORY: Out of the ether | The