Scholarly publishing: Between science and the market

Abstract

he academic publishing market has become a significant issue in the scientific community, with the insidious expansion of a logic of intense competition leading to articles becoming a form of currency for cultural, symbolic, and even concrete capital accumulation. The imperative to ‘publish or perish’ is increasingly demanding, and simply publishing is no longer enough; it is necessary to publish in large volumes. This competition logic intersects with the capitalist economy, leading to a lucrative market for scientific publishing. The structuring of incentives that prioritize competition, quantity, and questionable criteria of ‘quality’ has inexorably led to the production of serious distortions that threaten science itself as a mode of knowledge production. It is necessary to act on the incentives that have led to this situation, moderating or removing their effects.