Why did some people in eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?

By the mid-eighteenth century, there was a common conviction that books were a means of spreading progress and enlightenment. Many believed that books could change the world, liberate society from despotism and tyranny, and herald a time when reason and intellect would rule. Louise-Sebastien Mercier, a novelist in eighteenth-century France, declared: ‘The printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away.’

Print culture helped the widespread dissemination of knowledge, allowing ideas of enlightenment to reach broader audience. The sharing of information and rational discourse through printed materials contributed to the questioning of traditional authority, advocating for reason, individual rights, and democratic principles.