Democracy and Technological Advances in Print?
Paul Starr explained the influence of democracy of print in chapter four as he described the technological success during the print era; "The continuing expansion of print created an incentive for technological innovation" (pg. 125). Because ideas needed to be distributed, technological innovation secured a fast and speedy diffusion of ideas. The Age of Enlightenment introduced this idea of the knowledge and information served at a high circulation and endorsed freedom of speech. Government intervention often limited this freedom as they enacted laws such as the Stamp Act and special taxes on documents. Starr produces an interesting theory in this section of the chapter, creating an argument of the interruption of the freedom of speech.
posted by K.J. McIntyre @ 9:55 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
A key point: demand creates incentives for invention and innovation. While some goverments try to limit or at least control these changes the U.S. government tried to promote this process of technological innovation and subsidize the supply and distribution of cheap print for the public.
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