I think that the Internet is just one more step along the 'just in time' path. So much of what we've done over the last several thousand years has been to reduce the need for individual stockpiling of anything. There was a time when each family needed to stockpile pretty much all of their own supplies. The Internet is making it possible for society to do with information what society has done for food--centralized storage to which people contribute as they are able and from which each person draws when and as necessary.

In the context of this discussion, it might be useful think of the Internet like a 'grocery chain' for information. I don't have to buy (or grow!) a whole cow to put meat on the table and now with the Internet, I don't have to buy (or write) the whole book (or multi-volume set!) to get the job done. As with produce, I can be reasonably sure that 'the system' will keep me supplied with fresh (i.e. new) information as it becomes available, no matter where that information was produced or who produced it. As with meat, I can select from the finest cuts, the most cost-effective cuts, and the easiest to prepare. I can get exactly what I want or need exactly when I want or need it.

Are there risks? Certainly. Are we losing something? Probably. There are risks associated with not keeping our own gardens and livestock and we lose a specific kind of self-sufficiency, but overall our food delivery system provides a massive net benefit to both society and the individual. There are risks associated with becoming dependent on the Internet and there too we lose a specific kind of self-sufficiency, but I'd argue that it provides a massive net benefit to both society and the individual.