Podcast Summary:

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Steven Pinfield
Guest: Dr. Samuel Moore
Episode: Samuel Moore, "Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care, and the Commons" (U Michigan Press, 2025)
Date: December 12, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Steven Pinfield interviews Dr. Samuel Moore about his book Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care, and the Commons. Moore critically examines the recent history and current landscape of open access (OA) publishing, arguing for a move away from market-oriented, policy-driven models toward scholar-led, commons-based publishing practices underpinned by care and democratic community governance. Through theoretical analysis and the case study of Plan S, Moore highlights both the pitfalls of market-centric OA and the potential of collective, locally grounded alternatives.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Main Problems in Contemporary Academic Publishing (04:23–08:49)

• Background and Motivation:
  Dr. Moore traces the beginning of open access to the 2000s, especially with the Budapest Open Access Initiative.

  • Open access initially aimed to provide free access to research for the public good.
  • "Open access as it was, was an idealistic idea... It really is hard to overstate just how much open access has transformed the academic publishing landscape over the last 15, 20 years." (Dr. Moore, 06:22)

• Co-option by Commercial Interests:
  The OA movement has largely been captured by commercial publishers via mechanisms like article processing charges (APCs) and transformative agreements, perpetuating profit-driven control rather than freeing scholarship.

  • "We have a lot more access to materials, which is fantastic, but at the expense of the continual commercial control of academic publishing.” (Dr. Moore, 08:21)

2. The Strange "Market" of Research Publishing and the Role of Policy (08:49–12:42)

• Non-Economic Market:
  Researchers publish for recognition, not monetary gain, but OA policies (e.g., the UK’s Finch Report) attempted to inject market dynamics by giving researchers funds and expecting rational economic decisions, which backfired.

  • "They weren't spending their money, they were spending someone else's money. So all they were doing was going for the most prestigious press." (Dr. Moore, 10:05)

• Humanities and Alternative Models:
  Moore’s background in the humanities led him to investigate alternative, non-top-down, community-oriented models as counterpoints to science-led, policy-driven OA.

3. The Commons: Conceptual Clarification (12:42–18:27)

• Misunderstandings of the Commons:
  Many equate "commons" with free access, but true commons involve not just the resource but the community (“commoners”) and the collective practices (“commoning”) that steward them.

  • "You can't have an understanding of the Commons without an understanding of the commoners... and practices of commoning." (Dr. Moore, 13:54)

• Production, Not Just Access:
  Viewing publishing as commons means focusing on collective production and governance, not just free outputs.

• Tragedy of the Commons Not Directly Relevant:
  Digital commons (knowledge) aren't depleted like physical commons, but the labor behind publishing is finite and must be consciously sustained.

4. Critique of Liberal Commons and Creative Commons (19:56–26:09)

• Liberal “Commons” vs Collective Ownership:
  Creative Commons (CC) licenses, while widespread, reinforce individualistic, author-focused models of intellectual property inconsistent with a communal commons.

  • "If I'm giving something to the commons, then it's not mine... Creative Commons doesn't really enable that." (Dr. Moore, 21:28)

• Recognition Over Royalties:
  While authors seek recognition over profit, the system's binary approach to authorship credits excludes many contributors. Moore suggests—but does not mandate—rethinking these practices.

5. Care Ethics in Publishing (26:09–30:19)

• The Role of Care:
  Drawing on feminist ethics and theorists like Annemarie Mol, Moore argues that care is central to both commons and scholarly publishing.

  • "Publishing itself, I argue, is a form of care. It's really, really important in publishing to take care of the process." (Dr. Moore, 27:40)

• Conflict With Commercial Logic:
  Commercial publishing’s drive for efficiency and scalability is fundamentally at odds with the careful, human-centered labor that good scholarship requires.

6. Plan S and Policy Critique (30:19–38:36)

• Plan S Overview:
  Plan S, a European initiative to mandate immediate OA, originally advocated radical measures like capping APCs but quickly compromised under pressure, stimulating the OA market instead of reforming it.

  • "It turns out that there was a lot of pushback... and what they had to do is kind of water down the plan." (Dr. Moore, 32:08)

• Neoliberal Policymaking:
  Moore argues Plan S exemplifies neoliberal approaches—stimulating markets instead of meaningful intervention.

  • "What was actually needed... was regulation or intervention. But this policymaker... says, it's not the job of policymakers to intervene into the economics of the market." (Dr. Moore, 33:41)

• Not All Policy is Bad:
  Positive examples exist outside the global North, such as state-supported OA in Latin America (SciELO), but neoliberal contexts neuter top-down efforts.

7. Scholar-Led & Commons-Based Alternatives (40:08–51:55)

• Scholar-Led Publishing:
  Moore advocates for publishing managed by working academics, highlighting early OA journals and current collectives (e.g. Radical Open Access Collective).

  • "Scholar led publishing... is a commons-based way of approaching publishing because they are individual communities, they're mutually reliant, they're producing stuff that's OA, but essentially they're doing so in this kind of commons-based way." (Dr. Moore, 42:40)

• Multiple Models:
  Similar approaches can be found in library-led and university press publishing, ideally subsidized and not profit-driven.

• Applicability Across Disciplines:
  While his focus is on humanities and social sciences, Moore notes that communities in STEM also engage in alternative publishing (e.g., physicists with preprint servers).

• Scaling Small:
  "Scaling small" means interlinking small, local, diverse publishing initiatives through networks of mutual support while resisting pressures for homogenized, global solutions.

  • "If you bring these presses together... and you weave all of these presses together and you make them mutually reliant... then you've created something much bigger at the same time as preserving that local context." (Dr. Moore, 48:28)

8. Sustainability and Costs (54:09–59:26)

• Funding and Sustainability:
  Scholar-led publishing functions with minimal funding, often relying on in-kind labor from academics. Moore cautions against using cost-savings as the primary justification since it mirrors commercial priorities.

  • "I don't think that we should in any way be motivated by cost efficiencies... what we should be doing is just a way of reimagining the economics of publishing." (Dr. Moore, 55:30, 58:45)

• Alternative Funding Models:
  Approaches like the consortial model (Open Library of Humanities) and diamond OA (no charges for authors or readers, supported by state or institutional funds) are promising but face austerity pressures.

9. The Path Forward: Change of Practice & Mindset (60:14–63:25)

• Need for Cultural Change:
  Moore wants engagement from scholars themselves, encouraging them to reflect on their publishing practices and embrace experimentation.

  • "The main thing we need to be doing is engaging academics and getting them to think about kind of why they're researching and publishing in the ways they are..." (Dr. Moore, 61:13)

• Experimentation Over Prescription:
  Rather than prescribing a single solution, Moore hopes opening space for local, care-based, and cooperative experimentation will generate a more ethical, flourishing publishing future.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 06:22 | Moore | "Open access as it was, was an idealistic idea... It really is hard to overstate just how much open access has transformed the academic publishing landscape over the last 15, 20 years." | | 08:21 | Moore | "...We have a lot more access to materials, which is fantastic, but at the expense of the continual commercial control of academic publishing." | | 13:54 | Moore | "You can't have an understanding of the Commons without an understanding of the commoners...and practices of commoning." | | 21:28 | Moore | "If I'm giving something to the commons, then it's not mine... Creative Commons doesn't really enable that." | | 27:40 | Moore | "Publishing itself, I argue, is a form of care. It's really, really important in publishing to take care of the process." | | 33:41 | Moore | "What was actually needed... was regulation or intervention. But this policymaker... says it's not the job of policymakers to intervene into the economics of the market." | | 42:40 | Moore | "Scholar led publishing...is a commons-based way of approaching publishing because they are individual communities, they're mutually reliant..."| | 48:28 | Moore | "If you bring these presses together... and you weave all of these presses together and you make them mutually reliant... then you've created something much bigger..." | | 55:30 | Moore | "I don't think that we should in any way be motivated by cost efficiencies...what we should be doing is just a way of reimagining the economics of publishing." | | 61:13 | Moore | "The main thing we need to be doing is engaging academics and getting them to think about...why they're researching and publishing in the ways they are..." |

Important Segment Timestamps

• 04:23 – Open Access history & commercialization
• 08:49 – Policy approaches & their problems in the UK
• 12:42 – The Commons: deeper theorization
• 19:56 – Critique of Creative Commons, issues of ownership
• 26:09 – Ethics of Care & why it matters in publishing
• 30:19 – Plan S: radical intent, neoliberal result
• 40:08 – Scholar-led publishing & alternative ecosystems
• 47:53 – Scaling small: local vs global tension
• 54:09 – Sustainability: funding, labor, and ethics
• 60:14 – Where next: mindset shift, experimentation, and engagement

Tone and Language

• Throughout the conversation, Dr. Moore is reflective, analytical, and candid about the limitations, contradictions, and challenges within OA publishing.
• Moore emphasizes experimentation, collective care, and cautious optimism for local, mutually supportive initiatives rather than any "one-size-fits-all" global solution.

Conclusion

Dr. Samuel Moore’s critique spotlights the shortcomings of market-driven, policy-centric approaches to open access and paints a detailed vision for a future of scholar-led, commons-based publishing organized around principles of care, community, and democratic mutual aid. While acknowledging the complexities, Moore argues that meaningful change rests on engaged, collective action and structural support for alternatives—backed by new funding models, local networks, and a cultural shift among academics themselves.