Internet’s new copy culture will almost certainly increase literacy and the spread of democratic ideals, furthering the legacy of the printing press. Currently 2.4 billion people worldwide use the Internet across an estimated 2 to 3 billion connected devices. Seventy-eight percent of the U.S. population is now connected, which is not surprising considering the U.S. origins of the Internet, but half a billion people in mainland China are connected as well, albeit with government interference (known as “The Great Firewall of China”). Just as printed books gave rise to new libraries, and new libraries became new universities, the Internet also has the power to transform education and end-run corrupt institutions by delivering the library, the newspaper, and the classroom to any corner of the world. - The culture of the copy by James Panero - The New Criterion