Political Economy of Knowledge Production in Capitalist Academia: Challenges and Opportunities for Socio-Ecological Transformation

Western societies face unprecedented interconnected crises—climate change, democratic instability, rising inequality, and growing science scepticism—that demand fundamental socio-ecological transformation within a compressed timeframe. However, current university systems, shaped by neoliberal restructuring and historically patriarchal logics, are structurally inadequate to support the critical research and societal engagement necessary for this transformation. This diminishes academia's relevance, exacerbating the post-truth crisis. We examine how competitive evaluation mechanisms, economic incentives and academic culture in contemporary academia hinder research conducive to socio-ecological transformations while perpetuating existing power structures and knowledge hierarchies. Through critical analysis of academic structures and knowledge production systems, drawing on existing literature across relevant fields, we build upon the concept of academic capitalism but extend it. We identify four interconnected pillars of what we term "capitalist academia": commodification of knowledge, publish-or-perish logic and competitization, social homogenization, and entrenched hierarchies. These structural features lead to a prioritization of individual competition over collaborative problem-solving, favor incremental research over transformative inquiry, and systematically exclude diverse perspectives essential for addressing complex socio-ecological challenges. Our analysis reveals how these structures of knowledge production not only fail to contribute meaningfully to societal transformation but actively contribute to reproducing the very systems that perpetuate ecological and social crises. We propose replacing these problematic pillars with four alternative principles—the "4Ds": Dialogue, Decommodification, Diversification, and Democratisation. This framework represents a pathway toward emancipatory academia that can meaningfully engage with socio-ecological transformation challenges while preserving scientific integrity. We also provide examples of existing initiatives and ideas where principles of the 4Ds are already in place, demonstrating practical pathways for reform and critically reflect on the adaptability of the current system of knowledge production. This research contributes to ongoing debates about academic reform while offering concrete directions for aligning higher education with sustainability imperatives and building the consensus needed for emancipatory socio-ecological transformation.