I guess complex adaptive system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_adaptive_system) is one of the topics worth exploring. I think some new advanced technologies in programming besides "protocols" among programmers could help people to get closer to what we want, though I'm a complete layman of those techs. Simplicity probably does not lead to successful scaling every time, but it seems to be the only way to get there. My 2 cents as a layman.