I think it's genuinely ridiculous; academics working on really important topics for the current age, from society, to legal theory, to anthropology, to novel engineering are gatekept by publishers. I've wanted to read the full text to a paper I thought I will gain a lot from, something I can cite in an argument, something to enrich me and make me think. I can't do that, because I don't have access to the paper/book/whatever. At best, I have access to an inconvenient quarter of it on Google Books. I can't buy it for less than 60 euros, sometimes much more.

I genuinely think that the fact academic work is hidden inside ridiculously expensive books and publisher paywalls is a reason why some people have given up on trying to change the world. They literally can't afford access to the tools that will support them or they can argue against.

The independent researcher is at best five years behind current theories, and at worst dead.