RESISTING ACADEMIC CAPITALISM: AN ESSAY ON EPISTEMIC JUSTICE

Abstract

Academic capitalism structures the production and circulation of knowledge through processes of extraction, commodification, exploitation, and alienation. Scientific journals are ideal places to observe these practices and their effects. Subject to contradictory demands, they reproduce certain norms of academic capitalism while opening up spaces conducive to critical reflection. To analyze these paradoxical practices, we draw on the concept of epistemic justice, understood as the recognition and equitable valuation of all voices involved in the production and circulation of knowledge. Enriched by contributions from decolonial and feminist approaches, this concept allows us to propose criteria for assessing injustices, articulate different scales of analysis, and focus attention on transformative practices. Based on this framework, we conduct a reflexive analysis of the editorial practices of the Responsible Organization Review (ROR) and discuss the scope and limitations of four tactics: facilitating plurivocal expression, decentering linguistic and epistemic norms, recognizing contributions, and diversifying editorial formats. Embedded in academic capitalism, these practices allow marginalized voices to be heard, to challenge dominant norms, to value the contributions of all contributors, and to open up pluralistic spaces for expression. Ultimately, this essay helps to shed light on how scientific organizations can articulate criticism and action and proposes a framework for transforming the regimes of knowledge production and circulation.