The politics of the printing press. History of the printing press

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The politics of the printing press
History of the printing press
Prior to the innovation of the internet, no technology had influenced the distribution of information than the printing press. The piece of innovation is the work of Johannes Gutenberg, a German, and first came to light in 1440 in the Holy Roman Empire. Although nothing is Known of Gutenberg’s childhood, his ability to create molds and mix metals was discussed in a lawsuit against him in 1439. Nevertheless, his printing press has a type case that uses a special matrix to quicken the molding of various blocks from a uniform template. The template is made from an alloy of antimony, tin, and lead and is significant in producing durable and high quality printed books. Interestingly, Gutenberg did not benefit from his own innovation. In fact, he was involved in many legal battles and debt that he died with very little glory in 1468. However, by the end of 1610, there were approximately 500 printing stations in Europe that printed more than 20 million books each year. At the beginning of 1675, the printing of books had become so attached to the printing enterprise that it led to creation of the press as a branch of media.
How the printing press modifies our understanding of the world
Before the invention of the printing press, information had no power and only mattered to a few members of the society. However, Gutenberg’s printing press changed the whole narrative by spreading information to masses in an efficient and durable way. It led to the enlightenment stage where any information was readily available to people in books. A lot of the books contained information on various cultures, religion, and politics. As a result, people became more knowledgeable about their environment and the world in general. Gutenberg’s innovation made people understand that there was more to this world than just living in it. It encouraged people to preserve information and use it to undertake certain developments. Today, information related to various aspects of the world is recognized as an essential part of humanity. Some governments even allow their citizens to walk into any government institution and request any information.
How the population might have been conditioned to accept the printing press
The human brain is hyperactive, which is a good thing because it allows people to conquer threats through innovation. However, too much technology leads to machine-conditioned utopia; vanishing the pleasure of engaging in physical work (Mumford, p 37). Before the innovation of the printing press, every piece of information had to be laboriously copied by hand. Such work was done by the poor and limited their access to written information. Although not engaging in physical work may be a bad thing, the poor accepted the printing press because it significantly reduced physical work and was a way of accessing written materials. For business men, the printing press presented a perfect opportunity that conquered their investing fears. Therefore, they accepted it because it was an innovation that had the potential to make them wealthier. Additionally, authors accepted the printing press because it presented them with an oppo...