|
在 18 世纪末美国作为共和国成立之后，一系列相互关联的改进提高了信息的流通速度和数量，从而鼓励和促进了社会流动性、经济雄心和人们的意愿与远方的陌生人做生意。 这个新通信网络的第一部分是美国邮政局，它于 1792 年成立，其明确使命是让新闻和信息在美国各地尽可能自由和轻松地传播。两个早期的决定帮助使邮政系统成为民族融合的非凡力量：首先，报纸——所有报纸——都可以以微不足道的费用随时获得邮政服务；其次，国会（国家立法机构）政府) 养成了从不拒绝公民对新路线和邮局的请愿的习惯。虽然这显然有利于商业，但这种对扩张邮政系统的早期支持并不是出于商业考虑；事实上，私人信件（主要是商业通信）支付了很多高额邮资补贴报纸的相对自由流通。正是共和党对民选政客的广泛怀疑，聚集在国家遥远的首都华盛顿，培养了人们的普遍信念，即自由本身取决于廉价传播新闻。政治对手在国家舞台需要关于他们的敌人和敌人在全国范围内的选民的信息；州和地方官员要求他们在国会的代表经常沟通；和普通选民——尤其是当投票权扩大到包括所有成年白人男性时——必须了解他们最喜欢的候选人和政党并激怒他们。结果，到 1830 年代初，邮局雇用了 8,700 人（四分之三所有联邦雇员）并每年分发 1600 万份报纸；这个数字到 1840 年翻了一番。从定居的第一天开始，几乎在荒野最远的角落都可以找到当前的报纸。巡回演出的法国贵族亚历克西斯·德·托克维尔发现居民密歇根州边境地区的居民比法国北部的普通民众消息灵通，后者自远古以来就已定居。到 1830 年代初期，邮局雇用了 8,700 人（占所有联邦雇员的四分之三），每年分发 1,600 万份报纸；到 1840 年，这个数字翻了一番。从最初的日子开始，几乎在荒野最远的角落都可以找到当前的报纸定居的法国贵族亚历克西斯·德·托克维尔 (Alexis de Tocqueville) 发现，密歇根边境地区的居民比法国北部的普通民众消息灵通，后者自古以来就已定居。到 1830 年代初期，邮局雇用了 8,700 人（占所有联邦雇员的四分之三），每年分发 1,600 万份报纸；到 1840 年，这个数字翻了一番。从最初的日子开始，几乎在荒野最远的角落都可以找到当前的报纸定居的法国贵族亚历克西斯·德·托克维尔 (Alexis de Tocqueville) 发现，密歇根边境地区的居民比法国北部的普通民众消息灵通，后者自古以来就已定居。旅行的法国贵族亚历克西斯·德·托克维尔发现，与自古以来定居的法国北部平民相比，密歇根边境地区的居民消息灵通。旅行的法国贵族亚历克西斯·德·托克维尔发现，与自古以来定居的法国北部平民相比，密歇根边境地区的居民消息灵通。 如果出于政治目的鼓励新闻的流通，那么它也会彻底改变商业。那些报纸上充斥着价格和其他与市场相关的信息，使各地的买卖双方都服从于真正的市场力量。信息在资本主义自由市场体系中像电流一样工作，拨动开关并设置情境。一蒲式耳小麦运抵纽约增加了纽约买家的商品供应量——理论上压低了商品价格。了解纽约小麦的售价有助于俄亥俄州或伊利诺斯州农村地区的农民决定种植什么以及在收获时期望获得什么回报。知道出售什么商品（最早的商业广告通常印有详细清单）增加了乡下人的需求，并降低了消费者对当地自给自足市场有限选择的满意度。在信息自由流动的地方，价格竞争开始影响人们如何评价他们买卖的东西：一加仑威士忌或一双鞋的价值趋向于供给平衡需求减去运输成本的均衡价格。 当然，投递邮件是改善交通运动背后的主要推动力。更好的邮政服务取决于当地道路的状况，这刺激了当地官员和纳税人（有些人比其他人更多地清理道路，排干泥浆洞，并建造桥梁和排水隧道，在那里小而不稳定的溪流可能会一次中断数天或数周的递送。更好的道路，以及利润丰厚的联邦运送邮件合同的可用性，鼓励私人驿马线路提高运力，加快服务，并朝着可靠的时间表迈进。当然，一旦人们熟悉了更好的服务，他们就要求它的延续和进一步改进。因此，竞争回报了成功的创新，这些创新有助于使用任何可用的技术（原始或实验性技术）改善人员和信息的流通。到 1850 年代，信件和报纸在交付之前可能会通过帆船、汽船、运河船、铁路和驿马车运输由农村送货员。 1. ►这个新通信网络的第一部分是美国邮政局，它于 1792 年成立，其明确的使命是使新闻和信息在美国各地的传播尽可能自由和容易。两个早期的决定帮助使邮政系统成为国家整合的非凡力量：首先，报纸——所有报纸——都可以以微不足道的费用随时获得邮政服务；其次，国会（国民政府的立法部门）) adopted the habit of never turning down citizen petitions
for new routes and post offices.Although it clearly benefited business,this
early support for an expansive postal system did not spring from commercial
considerations;in fact,private letters (mostly business communications)paid
very high postage to subsidize the comparatively free flow of newspapers.It was
the widespread republican suspicion of elected politicians,gathered in the
nation's far-off capital in Washington,that fostered the popular conviction
that liberty itself depended on cheaply spreading the news.Political rivals on
the national stage required information about their enemies and their
enemies'constituents all over the nation;state and local officials demanded
frequent communications from their representatives in Congress;and common
voters-especially as the right to vote expanded to include all adult white
males-had to be informed and inflamed about their favorite candidates and
political parties.As a result,by the early 1830s the post office employed 8,700
individuals (three-fourths of all federal employees)and delivered 16 million
newspapers a year;this number doubled by 1840.Current newspapers could be found
in the farthest corners of the wilderness practically from the first days of
settlement.The touring French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville found that the
residents of frontier Michigan Territory were better informed than the common
people of northern France,which had been settled since time immemorial. 2. ►The first piece of this new communications network was the United States Post Office,which had been launched back in 1792 on an explicit mission to make the circulation of news and information as free and easy as possible all across the United States.Two early decisions helped make the postal system an extraordinary force for national integration:First,newspapers-all newspapers-were granted ready access to the post at trivial expense;and second, Congress (the law-making branch of the national government) adopted the habit of never turning down citizen petitions for new routes and post offices.Although it clearly benefited business,this early support for an expansive postal system did not spring from commercial considerations;in fact,private letters (mostly business communications)paid very high postage to subsidize the comparatively free flow of newspapers.It was the widespread republican suspicion of elected politicians,gathered in the nation's far-off capital in Washington,that fostered the popular conviction that liberty itself depended on cheaply spreading the news.Political rivals on the national stage required information about their enemies and their enemies'constituents all over the nation;state and local officials demanded frequent communications from their representatives in Congress;and common voters-especially as the right to vote expanded to include all adult white males-had to be informed and inflamed about their favorite candidates and political parties.As a result,by the early 1830s the post office employed 8,700 individuals (three-fourths of all federal employees)and delivered 16 million newspapers a year;this number doubled by 1840.Current newspapers could be found in the farthest corners of the wilderness practically from the first days of settlement.The touring French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville found that the residents of frontier Michigan Territory were better informed than the common people of northern France,which had been settled since time immemorial. 3. ►The first piece of this
new communications network was the United States Post Office,which had been
launched back in 1792 on an explicit mission to make the circulation of news
and information as free and easy as possible all across the United States.Two
early decisions helped make the postal system an extraordinary force for
national integration:First,newspapers-all newspapers-were granted ready access
to the post at trivial expense;and second, Congress (the law-making branch of
the national government) adopted the habit of never turning down citizen
petitions for new routes and post offices.Although it clearly benefited
business,this early support for an expansive postal system did not spring from
commercial considerations;in fact,private letters (mostly business communications)paid
very high postage to subsidize the comparatively free flow of newspapers.It was
the widespread republican suspicion of elected politicians,gathered in the
nation's far-off capital in Washington,that fostered the popular conviction
that liberty itself depended on cheaply spreading the news.Political rivals on
the national stage required information about their enemies and their
enemies'constituents all over the nation;state and local officials demanded
frequent communications from their representatives in Congress;and common
voters-especially as the right to vote expanded to include all adult white
males-had to be informed and inflamed about their favorite candidates and
political parties.As a result,by the early 1830s the post office employed 8,700
individuals (three-fourths of all federal employees)and delivered 16 million
newspapers a year;this number doubled by 1840.Current newspapers could be found
in the farthest corners of the wilderness practically from the first days of
settlement.The touring French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville found that the
residents of frontier Michigan Territory were better informed than the common
people of northern France,which had been settled since time immemorial. 4. ►The first piece of this new communications network was the United States Post Office,which had been launched back in 1792 on an explicit mission to make the circulation of news and information as free and easy as possible all across the United States.Two early decisions helped make the postal system an extraordinary force for national integration:First,newspapers-all newspapers-were granted ready access to the post at trivial expense;and second, Congress (the law-making branch of the national government) adopted the habit of never turning down citizen petitions for new routes and post offices.Although it clearly benefited business,this early support for an expansive postal system did not spring from commercial considerations;in fact,private letters (mostly business communications)paid very high postage to subsidize the comparatively free flow of newspapers.It was the widespread republican suspicion of elected politicians,gathered in the nation's far-off capital in Washington,that fostered the popular conviction that liberty itself depended on cheaply spreading the news.Political rivals on the national stage required information about their enemies and their enemies'constituents all over the nation;state and local officials demanded frequent communications from their representatives in Congress;and common voters-especially as the right to vote expanded to include all adult white males-had to be informed and inflamed about their favorite candidates and political parties.As a result,by the early 1830s the post office employed 8,700 individuals (three-fourths of all federal employees)and delivered 16 million newspapers a year;this number doubled by 1840.Current newspapers could be found in the farthest corners of the wilderness practically from the first days of settlement.The touring French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville found that the residents of frontier Michigan Territory were better informed than the common people of northern France,which had been settled since time immemorial.
5. ►If the circulation of news was encouraged for political purposes,it nevertheless revolutionized business as well.Those newspapers were filled with prices and other market-related information, subjecting buyers and sellers everywhere to real market forces. Information worked like an electric current in the capitalist free-market system,flipping switches and setting up situations.The arrival of a bushel of wheat in New York increased the supply-and theoretically depressed the price-of that commodity for New York buyers. Knowing the selling price of wheat in New York helped farmers in rural Ohio or Illinois decide what to plant and what to expect in return for their produce at harvest time.Knowing what goods were for sale (the earliest mercantile ads typically printed detailed lists)increased demand among country people and reduced consumer satisfaction with the limited choices available in local self-sufficient markets. Wherever information flowed freely,price competition began to exercise its influence on how people valued what they bought and sold:The value of a gallon of whiskey or a pair of shoes moved toward an equilibrium price where supply balanced demand,minus the cost of transportation.
6. ►If the circulation of news was encouraged for political purposes,it nevertheless revolutionized business as well.Those newspapers were filled with prices and other market-related information, subjecting buyers and sellers everywhere to real market forces. Information worked like an electric current in the capitalist free-market system,flipping switches and setting up situations.The arrival of a bushel of wheat in New York increased the supply-and theoretically depressed the price-of that commodity for New York buyers. Knowing the selling price of wheat in New York helped farmers in rural Ohio or Illinois decide what to plant and what to expect in return for their produce at harvest time.Knowing what goods were for sale (the earliest mercantile ads typically printed detailed lists)increased demand among country people and reduced consumer satisfaction with the limited choices available in local self-sufficient markets. Wherever information flowed freely,price competition began to exercise its influence on how people valued what they bought and sold:The value of a gallon of whiskey or a pair of shoes moved toward an equilibrium price where supply balanced demand,minus the cost of transportation.
7. ►Delivering the mail,of
course,turned out to be a major impetus behind campaigns for improved
transportation.Better postal service depended on the condition of local
roads,which stimulated local officials and taxpayers (some more than others to
clear the roads, drain the mud holes,and build bridges and drainage tunnels
where small,erratic streams threatened to cut off delivery for days or weeks at
a time.Better roads,together with the availability of lucrative federal contracts for carrying the
mail,encouraged private stagecoach lines to improve capacity,speed up
service,and move toward dependable schedules.Of course,once people became
acquainted with better service,they demanded its continuation and further
improvement.Competition thus repaid successful innovations that helped improve
the circulation of people and information using whatever technology-primitive
or experimental-was available.By the 1850s,letters and newspapers might travel
by sailing ship, steamboat,canal boat,railroad,and stagecoach before being
delivered by the rural deliverer. 8. ►Delivering the mail,of
course,turned out to be a major impetus behind campaigns for improved
transportation.Better postal service depended on the condition of local
roads,which stimulated local officials and taxpayers (some more than others to
clear the roads, drain the mud holes,and build bridges and drainage tunnels
where small,erratic streams threatened to cut off delivery for days or weeks at
a time.Better roads,together with the availability of lucrative federal
contracts for carrying the mail,encouraged private stagecoach lines to improve
capacity,speed up service,and move toward dependable schedules.Of course,once
people became acquainted with better service,they demanded its continuation and
further improvement.Competition thus repaid successful innovations that helped
improve the circulation of people and information using whatever
technology-primitive or experimental-was available.By the 1850s,letters and
newspapers might travel by sailing ship, steamboat,canal boat,railroad,and
stagecoach before being delivered by the rural deliverer. 9. If the circulation of news
was encouraged for political purposes,it nevertheless revolutionized business
as well.Those newspapers were filled with prices and other market-related
information, subjecting buyers and sellers everywhere to real market forces.
Information worked like an electric current in the capitalist free-market
system,flipping switches and setting up situations.⬛The arrival of a bushel of wheat in New York increased
the supply-and theoretically depressed the price-of that commodity for New York
buyers.⬛Knowing the selling price of wheat in New
York helped farmers in rural Ohio or Illinois decide what to plant and what to
expect in return for their produce at harvest time.⬛Knowing what goods were for sale (the earliest
mercantile ads typically printed detailed lists)increased demand among country
people and reduced consumer satisfaction with the limited choices available in
local self-sufficient markets.⬛Wherever
information flowed freely,price competition began to exercise its influence on
how people valued what they bought and sold:The value of a gallon of whiskey or
a pair of shoes moved toward an equilibrium price where supply balanced
demand,minus the cost of transportation. 10.
|
|
|
