It goes deeper than this, as I am sure you know. The same or similar logical constructs are in place when and where the work is designed and how it is to be managed, measured, rewarded, re-oriented, etc. The core design assumptions underneath all of this have been in place long enough to spawn its own sociology and clear examples, found in every organization, of what is politically acceptable, or not to say and do.

It's the same thing David Weinberger was getting at when he once said "you can never have a real conversation with someone who is your boss" except that it's a larger phenomenon and informs much of western societies' organized activities.

The effects and impacts of networked people and information (and how that interplay behaves) aren't going away, and are likely to intensify, but the concrete in the walls of the dykes, moats etc. is of good quality and will take some time to dissolve, remove and / or crumble.