8: From Patron to Patreon: Crowdfunding Information

As capitalism and democracy grew out of the enlightenment, newspapers became the beacon of information and education. The rise of the public sphere was a decisive element to educating the populace.¹ In the United States, each town grew their own newspapers and major cities had a variety of newspapers. These newspapers were aimed at the elites of society, namely the bourgeoisie, at the exclusion of most everyone else.² Newspapers provided information about crops, storms, uprisings, etc., that helped capitalists determine the price of goods.³ As literacy rates expanded, newspapers became an important part of everyday life, but they were always-already a tool to advance capitalism.