Textbooks are an slow-moving, entrenched market with unusual incentives. Many students are paying with loan money, teachers require books with little concern to cost, etc.
Scientific papers is also not your typical market. I remember reading that university libraries are somewhat compelled to subscribe to the status quo publishers, even if they are disliked. It's an industry where pedigree and tradition is quite important.
I fully agree it's good analyze why the system outputs what it does. I would question the idea a lot of the observable dynamics in the system have been consciously chosen for. That's not to say we shouldn't make the effort now though.
I'm not suggesting that the college textbook market has been designed by moustache-twirling evildoers, just that we should look at, as you say, the observable dynamics in the system. Regardless of market dynamics I think it's immoral to restrict academic knowledge to those who can afford it, when it can be distributed at 0 marginal cost.
Definitely. I believe amazing things can happen the more we make the collective knowledge of humanity accessible to all. Thankfully, I think we are moving in that direction.
Scientific papers is also not your typical market. I remember reading that university libraries are somewhat compelled to subscribe to the status quo publishers, even if they are disliked. It's an industry where pedigree and tradition is quite important.
I fully agree it's good analyze why the system outputs what it does. I would question the idea a lot of the observable dynamics in the system have been consciously chosen for. That's not to say we shouldn't make the effort now though.