Quote of the Day: On Not Being Offended

 

“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.” – Benjamin Franklin

Few people today realize Ben Franklin became the 18th-century equivalent of Bill Gates by franchising print shops. He trained printers, provided them with standard print faces and printing tools, and lent them capital to set up their own print shops in towns throughout the colonies. In exchange, he got a piece of the action. He also farmed out large print jobs among his network of printers, keeping them busy and employed while permitting print runs in sizes in excess of what would otherwise be possible.

It was one factor making the American colonies one of the most literate corners of the world at that time. Stuff was being printed at a tremendous rate, so there was much to read. That encouraged literacy, which created more readers. It became a virtuous circle.

Then, as today controversy created more demand for the written word. Someone would publish a pamphlet about something. Someone else took offense at it, and responded by publishing their own pamphlet refuting and rebutting the first. That, in turn, generated a response, and the cycle continued. That kept printers busy. It is hardly a wonder Franklin did not care if people were offended — it created business.

It did more than create business. In that battleground of ideas, the strong survived and the weak perished. Good ideas trumped bad ideas. Eventually, the most persuasive ideas triumphed. The world was better for it.

That is why today’s trend toward censorship is so appalling. It permits the survival of bad ideas and false dogmas. Science is becoming religion and educational indoctrination because bad ideas are not allowed to be challenged for fear someone might take offense to that challenge. In the 21st century, we may have substituted social media for printers, but Franklin’s principle remains as valid today as it was in the 18th century when he first stated it.

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  1. Nohaaj Coolidge
    Nohaaj
    @Nohaaj

    Great post with the possible exception of comparing Franklin to Gates.  I suggest deleting that reference in its entirety.

    • #1
  2. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Seawriter: Few people today realize Ben Franklin became the 18th century equivalent of Bill Gates by franchising print shops. He trained printers, provided them with standard print faces and printing tools, and lent them capital to set up their own print shops in towns throughout the colonies. In exchange he got a piece of the action. He also farmed out large print jobs among his network of printers, keeping them busy and employed while permitting print runs in sizes in excess of what would otherwise be possible.

    I hadn’t known this.  It seems there is always something new to learn about Franklin. 

    • #2
  3. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Nohaaj (View Comment):
    Great post with the possible exception of comparing Franklin to Gates.  I suggest deleting that reference in its entirety.

    Well, both made a pile of money when relatively young and then spent the rest of their lives dabbling in politics and whatever else caught their interest.

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  4. OldPhil Coolidge
    OldPhil
    @OldPhil

    I recently read Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet, by Michael Meyer. It was quite informative and enjoyable.

     Benjamin Franklin was not a gambling man. But at the end of his illustrious life, the Founder allowed himself a final wager on the survival of the United States: a gift of two thousand pounds to Boston and Philadelphia, to be lent out to tradesmen over the next two centuries to jump-start their careers. Each loan would be repaid with interest over ten years. If all went according to Franklin’s inventive scheme, the accrued final payout in 1991 would be a windfall.

    In Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet, Michael Meyer traces the evolution of these twin funds as they age alongside America itself, bankrolling woodworkers and silversmiths, trade schools and space races. Over time, Franklin’s wager was misused, neglected, and contested—but never wholly extinguished. With charm and inquisitive flair, Meyer shows how Franklin’s stake in the “leather-apron” class remains in play to this day, and offers an inspiring blueprint for American prosperity in our modern era of growing wealth disparity and social divisions.

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  5. Ole Summers Member
    Ole Summers
    @OleSummers

    The competitive press and ideas were just another of the reasons that the English colonies became the seedbed for what became the American Revolution. Because they were far removed from the seat of power and were not “blessed” with great gold and silver resources like say the Spanish, etc, they were both independent and industrious. The average colonist was both more informed and had a better standard of living than the average Englishman of the time. A well-informed public with a tendency to question and challenge as well as a wide streak of determined industry and independence – and it only took about a third of them to keep the Revolution going until its conclusion. That seems to be a necessary combination for any generation intending self-governance.

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  6. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Nohaaj (View Comment):

    Great post with the possible exception of comparing Franklin to Gates. I suggest deleting that reference in its entirety.

    Who should I have compared Franklin to? Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg are closer comparisons, actually, but I didn’t want to cite them. Jobs was more a developer than a marketer. He kept Apple proprietary, while Gates sold licenses to Microsoft systems, the modern equivalent of Franklin’s franchising. Possibly Ray Kroc, but burgers aren’t intellectual property.

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  7. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    • #7
  8. Nohaaj Coolidge
    Nohaaj
    @Nohaaj

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    Nohaaj (View Comment):

    Great post with the possible exception of comparing Franklin to Gates. I suggest deleting that reference in its entirety.

    Who should I have compared Franklin to? Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg are closer comparisons, actually, but I didn’t want to cite them. Jobs was more a developer than a marketer. He kept Apple proprietary, while Gates sold licenses to Microsoft systems, the modern equivalent of Franklin’s franchising. Possibly Ray Kroc, but burgers aren’t intellectual property.

    I think Franklin stands on his own without comparison.   Gates has a possible sinister conspiracy side that seems distasteful to me. 

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  9. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Odin has only one eye.

    • #9
  10. Jim McConnell Member
    Jim McConnell
    @JimMcConnell

    At the time, there was no paper-making facility in America; all newsprint was imported from England. The canny Franklin imported a shipload of newsprint and for a time had a monopoly on the commodity. His competitors had to by their paper from him.

    • #10
  11. David Foster Member
    David Foster
    @DavidFoster

    “Few people today realize Ben Franklin became the 18th-century equivalent of Bill Gates by franchising print shops+

    Very interesting, is there a good link or book on this particular aspect of history?

    Not sure Gates is the best example, though, there were franchise deals in American long before he came on the scene.

    • #11
  12. Lilly B Coolidge
    Lilly B
    @LillyB

    I think this quote can apply to simply acting in the world, too. If you are constantly fretting about how others will judge you, you become paralyzed. 

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    • #12
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