There's one big problem with the public waking up. That is, they don't want to because that would require them to start taking responsibility themselves.Most of the people I've talked to simply don't want to do it; whether it was an option within the broken system that would allow them to still ignore much of the responsibility or not. I don't think many are going to wake up until something happens and they're forced to, However, by then, it will be too late and it will take a lot more effort to get out of the hole they find themselves in.
I should know, I found myself in such a hole after telling the "wrong" groups of people where to go, and it seems I'm still a very long way from getting out of it.
If you're referring to taking responsibility for your life under a true market economy, all I can say is, you can't force people to do anything -- all you can do is vote for a system with the right incentives (which also, BTW, protect people who do live responsibly.)
If you're referring to taking the civic responsibility to protect the public against powerful insiders, having state-free money would precisely make it unnecessary to keep track of what the elites are up to, every minute. I'm convinced that, if there is any involvement with money by the state, the elites will eventually make things complicated enough that the public can't figure out what they're up to, regardless of how educated the public are, and what system we start with.