Benedict Anderson the author of Imagined Communities identifies a nation as an imagined political community that is limited and sovereign. An imagined community can be considered as having a horizontal or vertical structure. For a community to be horizontal it means that everyone is considered as equals. To have a vertical structure in a community there is a hierarchy of power, normally consisting of a king, nobles, peasants etc. For an imagined community to be considered modern it requires to have a horizontal structure and follow the three key characteristics of an imagined community; a key factor that led to a horizontal structure would be the growth and development of print capitalism. Print driven capitalism led to the end of Christendom
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Prior to printing capitalism, the majority of texts were printed in a standard language such as Latin. Mainly the wealthy or educated were able to understand the circulating text. Leaving the majority portion of people unable to comprehend what was occurring around the world. However, after printing capitalism text were produced in the common language or the vernacular of lands, allowing more people to be able to read. The ability to have everyone in your community being able to read in the same vernacular creates a common thread among the people. According to Anderson an imagined community consists of a sect of people who feel as if they are united based on a common ground. The people of a nation feel united and identify themselves as an “us” and people outside of the nation would be considered as a “them”. A leading common ground for people was the common vernacular the people would read. In addition, to creating a common thread among the people, reading led to making more people educated on current issues of their time and creating a sense of equality among the people, which follows the horizontal structure supported by Anderson.
According to Anderson, print capitalism leads to a nation development of national consciousness. At first the printing press was created in 1454 it was used to print the Bible in Latin. After some time, the printing press was used to print the Bible in multiple languages and vernaculars. By doing so, the Bible would be able to be spread and reach different people worldwide. Soon after this more text beside the Bible, such as Luther’s 95 Thesis was printed first in Latin and then in other languages and vernacular. It
Prior to printing capitalism, the majority of texts were printed in a standard language such as Latin. Mainly the wealthy or educated were able to understand the circulating text. Leaving the majority portion of people unable to comprehend what was occurring around the world. However, after printing capitalism text were produced in the common language or the vernacular of lands, allowing more people to be able to read. The ability to have everyone in your community being able to read in the same vernacular creates a common thread among the people. According to Anderson an imagined community consists of a sect of people who feel as if they are united based on a common ground. The people of a nation feel united and identify themselves as an “us” and people outside of the nation would be considered as a “them”. A leading common ground for people was the common vernacular the people would read. In addition, to creating a common thread among the people, reading led to making more people educated on current issues of their time and creating a sense of equality among the people, which follows the horizontal structure supported by Anderson.
According to Anderson, print capitalism leads to a nation development of national consciousness. At first the printing press was created in 1454 it was used to print the Bible in Latin. After some time, the printing press was used to print the Bible in multiple languages and vernaculars. By doing so, the Bible would be able to be spread and reach different people worldwide. Soon after this more text beside the Bible, such as Luther’s 95 Thesis was printed first in Latin and then in other languages and vernacular. It