Literacy as Equalizer

One of the key points that really stuck out to me in Heath’s article was her discussion of literacy as an equalizing mechanism in society.  For the people of Trackton, literacy was almost always a shared event.  Its primary uses dealt with communication between people, about events concerning groups, and to supplement common knowledge or beliefs already held by people.  Reading “alone” marks out individuals “that can’t make it socially”.    The only written material not shared communally seems to concern things that would disrupt the balance of community equality in some way.  Furthermore, almost all other written materials are not primarily valued for their contents, but rather for the discussions and communal beliefs they inspire.  Is this equality stunting the literacy possibilities of the people of Trackton?  If they aren’t reading information for what it is most of the time, developing ideas on their own, are they doing themselves a disservice by placing such a community, extrapolative value on reading and writing?  Or are the people of Trackton onto something bigger when it comes to literacy–should we remember more often that reading and writing can only be taken in context, and discussed with others to be fully appreciated and understood?  To what extent is it good or bad for literacy to be an equalizing medium in society?