"A long time ago, in a more aristocratic era, Henry David Thoreau lamented that 'the mass never comes up to the standard of its best member.' But in the age of the Internet, people are more inclined to believe that the decentralized efforts of large groups can be better than the work of experts," writes Sebastian Mallaby in yesterday's Washington Post.

The upshot, as Mallaby argues, is that a cultural shift has taken place in the U.S. which has encouraged more respect for financial markets.  So despite a 3% correction in the stock market last week, Mallaby reports that "Democrats, who might have been expected to condemn (again) the idea of putting Social Security money in the stock market, stayed silent."

Reform opponents were silent because it is getting harder and harder to argue that markets don't work, and this is in large part because more people now understand that the results achieved by "decentralized efforts of large groups" are typically superior in quality and practicality to the decisions bestowed by centralized planners from commanding heights. 

This cultural shift--and, just as important, recognition of this shift in articles like Mallaby's and books like Wikinomics--is a good sign for people who want to introduce choice and ownership into our long-term retirement planning.