I think Brian Martin’s book is available online as a PDF because he wants people to be aware of how knowledge is restricted by the agendas of corporations and governments. I think he wants people to sample the book and to get an idea of how research is conducted and by who. He states, “The work of professional researchers is strongly influenced by funding, disciplines, hierarchy and competition. As a result, it is mainly useful to corporations, governments, professions and researchers themselves,” and to people that have never realized this, it will undoubtedly be of interest. I think his point of having the first chapter available in an accessible format is so the everyday person who has some sort of interest in the whereabouts of knowledge can question its credibility and think about why certain research is more available than others and to challenge them to become more engaged in research.
I do believe Martin’s choice to make this chapter of the book available online supports his belief that scholarship should be liberated. The chapter’s sole focus is to address who does research and how it helps their agendas and ultimately is not as useful to the general public. He even goes into detail on how more social organizations and activists have less financial support because the government and corporations don’t support them like they do experts in certain fields. He says that his purpose isn’t to advocate for change, but I think he sees an issue and wants to find a solution.
