(i) Books became cheaper and helped the individuals to read which developed rational thinking, scientific outlook, liberalism and democratic ideas.
(ii) The writings of the great philosophers like Thomas Paine, Rousseau and Voltaire spread the ideas of democracy and also exposed them to monarchial and church propaganda which finally helped to end despotism.
(iii) The people were not influenced directly by everything they read or saw. They accepted some ideas and rejected others. They interpreted things in their own way. Print did not directly shape their minds, but it did open up the possibility of thinking differently.