Toward a New Political Economy of Critical Editions

This chapter analyzes the political economy of digital critical editions and the development of research networks, as well as the ecological environment and the concrete human resources in digital critical edition. The first part builds on the scope of scholarly editing's “political economy in a pre-digital era,” and describes the human resources context that has followed the migration of critical edition to the digital world. Meanwhile, the second part discusses the impacts of collaborative work, human networks, open software ideology, and resource sharing on the new political economy of digital scholarly edition. Particular attention is given to the role of institutions such as publishers, research organizations and universities, and scientific networks in this new production environment.