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I read the essay as a critique of publishing. Notice that he said he had always wanted to write a book of ideas, like One Dimensional Man, The Lonely Crowd, or The End of Ideology. But, when he finally got a chance to write a book which would be published, publishers weren't looking for books of ideas anymore, they were looking for big-idea books, like The Wisdom of Crowds, The Tipping Point, or The Long Tail.
He wasn't sure that was what he wanted to do, but he tried, and, sure enough, instead of a big-idea book, he ended up with a book of ideas, which the publisher wouldn't publish. The days of books weaving together multiple ideas into nuanced understandings of the world we live in are gone. They've been replaced by days of entire books going on and on about one idea, which by itself, really can't provide much of an understanding of anything.