Anderson argued that the first European nation states were thus formed around their 'national print-languages.'Īnderson argues that the first form of capitalism started with the process of printing books and religious materials. As a result, readers speaking various local dialects became able to understand each other, and a common discourse emerged. Capitalist entrepreneurs printed their books and media in the vernacular (instead of exclusive script languages, such as Latin) in order to maximize circulation.

These theories were not originally applied to the Internet or television.Īccording to Anderson, the creation of imagined communities has become possible because of ' print capitalism'. Anderson explores the racist and colonial origins of these practices before explaining a general theory that explains how contemporary governments and corporations can (and frequently do) utilize these same practices. These tools were all built to target and define a mass audience in the public sphere through dominant images, ideologies, and language. Anderson analyzes the written word, a tool used by churches, authors, and media companies (notably books, newspapers, and magazines), as well as governmental tools such as the map, the census, and the museum.

: 6–7Īnderson focuses on the way media creates imagined communities, especially the power of print media in shaping an individual's social psyche. Anderson depicts a nation as a socially-constructed community, imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of a group. For the book, see Imagined Communities.Īn imagined community is a concept developed by Benedict Anderson in his 1983 book Imagined Communities to analyze nationalism.

Imagined communities sparknotes