In ancient days books were a rarity. Only the rich could afford a small collection of books. Books were very expensive because they had to be painstakingly hand copied. The invention of the printing press around 1440AD reduced the price of books dramatically. This enabled the poor to gain knowledge and education, which enabled some to break loose from the bondage of poverty.
Ebooks are now set to do what the printing press did in those days. People in the remotest parts of the world are now able to get instant copies of electronic books, as well as accessing the internet with its unlimited storehouse of information.
Ironically, it is not the educated and the people of means who stand to benefit most from this new found and endless wealth of information. It is the poor who previously have no ready access to vast libraries of books, even those under the rule of the strictest regimes, they are the ones who will benefit them most. Who can ban an e-book? It can be circulated to everyone in the entire world at ZERO cost - a far, far cry from the days of hand copied manuscripts.
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