Well if you read a few paragraphs into the article, there are examples like Code for America doing an adopt-a-fire-hydrant app in Boston. Which gets repurposed as an adopt-a-tsunami-siren in budget-strapped Honolulu, at a cost of ~$20/month. I don't think people need to be rabid nerds to see processes in government that could be improved. The article is about more people having the general mindset about how they could be improved.

In the middles ages, maybe some scribners thought the world would be a better place if everyone were literate? That doesn't mean everyone should be a professional author. But they should be able to participate in a world full of writing and reading.

By the way, the article has a comment by rms, so it's worth at least scrolling to the end, even if one lacks time to read the whole thing.