n an era where calls for transparency and inclusivity echo across every corner of society, one barrier remains stubbornly intact: access to knowledge. The privilege of knowledge access is one of society’s quietest, most persistent divides—hidden in plain sight.
French economist Thomas Piketty’s influential work on global inequality offers a powerful framework for understanding today’s disparities. His central premise, that wealth inequality has deep historical roots and is perpetuated by systems of power and privilege, extends naturally to the realm of knowledge. Knowledge inequality, like wealth inequality, is a pervasive divide shaped by similar forces, affecting society in profound but often overlooked ways.
Geographical barriers to access and innovation
Knowledge has long been recognized as one of the key drivers of social mobility, innovation, and economic progress. However, access to knowledge, particularly academic research and scientific advancements, remains highly stratified. Historically, the production and dissemination of knowledge have been controlled by institutions in high–income countries, which often monopolize research, journals, and scientific discoveries.
This imbalance has meant that those living in low, and middle–income countries have limited access to the latest findings and innovations, creating a two–tiered system of knowledge distribution.
Piketty’s idea of capital accumulation and the concentration of wealth among the few can be compared to the accumulation of intellectual capital in resourced institutions. The analogy is clear: just as wealth begets wealth, knowledge begets knowledge. OECD countries with prestigious universities and high–ranked research institutes have the resources to produce cutting–edge research, which is published in journals often behind prohibitive paywalls. This system perpetuates a cycle in which privileged groups maintain their intellectual dominance, while scholars and institutions from less–privileged backgrounds struggle to contribute meaningfully to global discourse.
R&D spending is heavily concentrated, with about 10 countries accounting for 75% of global R&D. This concentration skews the knowledge landscape toward regions with abundant resources, particularly the United States and China, which together represent around 50% of global R&D expenditure.
Frameworks for transparency and collaboration
The traditional publishing model, pay–to–read, has long mirrored this inequality. The standard for decades has been subscription–based access to academic journals, with individuals or institutions needing to pay steep fees to access articles. For many in low–income countries, these fees are simply unaffordable. This financial barrier restricts the flow of information to those who need it most, reinforcing the global divide in education, science, and innovation.
Open access (OA) publishing directly challenges this status quo. By making research freely available to everyone, regardless of geographical location or financial capacity, OA seeks to democratize knowledge. In 2020 open access publishing outperformed subscription–based publishing for the first time, marking a major milestone in its evolution. This trend continued in 2023, with nearly 65% of papers published in OA. Furthermore, OA enables scientists and academics from all parts of the world, including under–resourced regions, to participate in the creation and sharing of knowledge.
Similarly, open science (OS) advances these ideas by promoting transparency, collaboration, and the sharing of data and methods across borders. It encourages the sharing of the entire research process, from raw data to methodologies to preprints, ensuring that knowledge is not only accessible but also replicable and verifiable.
Open science, with its emphasis on transparency and cooperation, represents such a structural shift to address deeply entrenched disparities—in line with Piketty’s analysis. It moves the scientific community away from a system that privileges exclusivity and towards one that values inclusivity and equity. This is particularly vital as we face global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and food insecurity, where the best solutions will emerge from a diversity of voices and experiences, not just the wealthiest or most prestigious.
A call for sustainable change
As we consider the lessons of Piketty’s work, it becomes clear that the fight against inequality must be waged on multiple fronts. Wealth inequality is a pressing concern, but so too is the inequitable distribution of knowledge. OA publishing and OS are key strategies in addressing this issue, offering a pathway toward a more equitable global community where the benefits of knowledge are shared by all, not the few.
For those in the publishing industry, the onus is on us to support and advocate for open access. It is through these efforts that we can contribute to a more just and equitable world, where knowledge, like wealth, is not the privilege of a few, but the right of everyone.
a global affairs media network
The hidden crisis of knowledge inequality
Image by TilenHrovatic from Pixabay
December 3, 2024
Knowledge is a key driver of social mobility, innovation, and economic progress. Access to knowledge—especially academic and scientific—remains highly stratified, a situation which must change to address systemic inequality, writes Rui Duarte.
I
n an era where calls for transparency and inclusivity echo across every corner of society, one barrier remains stubbornly intact: access to knowledge. The privilege of knowledge access is one of society’s quietest, most persistent divides—hidden in plain sight.
French economist Thomas Piketty’s influential work on global inequality offers a powerful framework for understanding today’s disparities. His central premise, that wealth inequality has deep historical roots and is perpetuated by systems of power and privilege, extends naturally to the realm of knowledge. Knowledge inequality, like wealth inequality, is a pervasive divide shaped by similar forces, affecting society in profound but often overlooked ways.
Geographical barriers to access and innovation
Knowledge has long been recognized as one of the key drivers of social mobility, innovation, and economic progress. However, access to knowledge, particularly academic research and scientific advancements, remains highly stratified. Historically, the production and dissemination of knowledge have been controlled by institutions in high–income countries, which often monopolize research, journals, and scientific discoveries.
This imbalance has meant that those living in low, and middle–income countries have limited access to the latest findings and innovations, creating a two–tiered system of knowledge distribution.
Piketty’s idea of capital accumulation and the concentration of wealth among the few can be compared to the accumulation of intellectual capital in resourced institutions. The analogy is clear: just as wealth begets wealth, knowledge begets knowledge. OECD countries with prestigious universities and high–ranked research institutes have the resources to produce cutting–edge research, which is published in journals often behind prohibitive paywalls. This system perpetuates a cycle in which privileged groups maintain their intellectual dominance, while scholars and institutions from less–privileged backgrounds struggle to contribute meaningfully to global discourse.
R&D spending is heavily concentrated, with about 10 countries accounting for 75% of global R&D. This concentration skews the knowledge landscape toward regions with abundant resources, particularly the United States and China, which together represent around 50% of global R&D expenditure.
Frameworks for transparency and collaboration
The traditional publishing model, pay–to–read, has long mirrored this inequality. The standard for decades has been subscription–based access to academic journals, with individuals or institutions needing to pay steep fees to access articles. For many in low–income countries, these fees are simply unaffordable. This financial barrier restricts the flow of information to those who need it most, reinforcing the global divide in education, science, and innovation.
Open access (OA) publishing directly challenges this status quo. By making research freely available to everyone, regardless of geographical location or financial capacity, OA seeks to democratize knowledge. In 2020 open access publishing outperformed subscription–based publishing for the first time, marking a major milestone in its evolution. This trend continued in 2023, with nearly 65% of papers published in OA. Furthermore, OA enables scientists and academics from all parts of the world, including under–resourced regions, to participate in the creation and sharing of knowledge.
Similarly, open science (OS) advances these ideas by promoting transparency, collaboration, and the sharing of data and methods across borders. It encourages the sharing of the entire research process, from raw data to methodologies to preprints, ensuring that knowledge is not only accessible but also replicable and verifiable.
Open science, with its emphasis on transparency and cooperation, represents such a structural shift to address deeply entrenched disparities—in line with Piketty’s analysis. It moves the scientific community away from a system that privileges exclusivity and towards one that values inclusivity and equity. This is particularly vital as we face global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and food insecurity, where the best solutions will emerge from a diversity of voices and experiences, not just the wealthiest or most prestigious.
A call for sustainable change
As we consider the lessons of Piketty’s work, it becomes clear that the fight against inequality must be waged on multiple fronts. Wealth inequality is a pressing concern, but so too is the inequitable distribution of knowledge. OA publishing and OS are key strategies in addressing this issue, offering a pathway toward a more equitable global community where the benefits of knowledge are shared by all, not the few.
For those in the publishing industry, the onus is on us to support and advocate for open access. It is through these efforts that we can contribute to a more just and equitable world, where knowledge, like wealth, is not the privilege of a few, but the right of everyone.
